A Soul In Need
by Kairyn Deliae
Summary: A mutant who is trapped by the mystery of his past. Can the x-men help this new mutant find the truth about what happened? Open to suggestions of any and I do mean any romantic coupling but not the main focus of the story. R & R plz
1. Prologue: A Forgotten Soul

**A/N: Okay, This is my attempt at mysterious story...Any romance that happens here...well I'm not sure if they're will be any yet and if you want some tell me with who and I'll see if I can work it into my story. Oh and the music I used for the Music box here is Lilium (music box version of course) from the anime Elfen Lied. Very emotional little tune and I love it...anyway...on with story!**

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~*~*~A Soul In Need~*~*~

The graveyard was as it always was. Cold, damp and utterly sorrowful. Hardly anyone came there anymore. Only a few people remembered that once-living people -people with family and friends and homes- had been laid to rest here. It was a place forgotten by the masses. A slight drizzle of rain soaked into the marble and granite headstones.

A mausoleum near the heavy tree line and wrought iron fence sat by itself. The heavy stone door was cracked open and a dim, flickering light could just be seen from inside.

The muscular man examined the outside of the stone building. Gargoyles snarled down at him from the corners while an angel was placed on the door in a stark contrast. The name Vance was carved into a shield that the angel held. Rain collected on the angel's upturned face before falling down her cheeks like tears.

He sniffed the air carefully. He could smell something foul, like rotting flesh. He wrinkled his nose in distaste. Suddenly the sweet tune of a music box filled the somber graveyard. The simple tune was slow and a bit sad, but it beckoned him to come closer.

Slowly he found his feet taking a few steps towards the door. He peered through the crack, to the inside of the tomb. A few candles spluttered as they tried to stay lit in the dampness caused by the rain. A mass of black cloth was in the corner. On a stone bench in the middle of the room was a wooden music box it's lid open. It looked like it was made of rosewood or something of the sort and had intricate scroll designs carved into the shiny surface. A gold plate shone in the candlelight, something was inscribed on it but he couldn't make it out from this distance.

Slowly he pushed the door open further –annoyed at the scraping sound it caused- and entered the tomb. On both walls there were squares where different people were buried. He noticed the black mass seemed to shrink slightly. So that was where the kid was. Must be terrified. "Hey, kid, I'm not gonna hurt ya." He said gruffly.

The candles sputtered slightly and he thought he caught a glimpse of yellow eyes tinged green around slit pupils from inside the recesses of the black fabric. The music box started its tune over again from where it was sitting on the bench. "Name's Logan." He said taking a few steps closer.

Logan glanced down at the music box. The metal plate on the top read only two words. 'For Sam'. He glanced over at the cloaked figure again. "Guess your name's Sam, huh, kid?"

The figure lowered its head. "_What do you want?" _ A wispy and eerie voice asked.

Logan felt the hairs on the back of his neck jump to attention as a shiver ran down his spine. "I'm just here ta help ya, kid." He said taking a step closer before crouching down next to the teen he had been sent to retrieve.

"_Why?" _The cloaked teen asked, seeming to shrink in on himself more.

Logan frowned a bit. "Cause, we mutants gotta stick together."

Logan noticed the music box behind him was starting to wind down, the time between notes seemingly excessively long. Slowly the other mutant moved, not really walking or crawling, but almost gliding from what Logan could tell. The teen sat down by the bench and reached out to the music box.

A gloved hand came out and gently picked up the box, turning it over with reverence. Logan noticed the hand was thin, boney almost, as it wound the gold key on the bottom of the box. The tune returned strong and clear even over the sound of the rain. "_Mutants…" _The teen said, sounding thoughtful. "_Is that what I am?"_

Logan nodded. "We both are." He hated to say it but this kid was starting to unnerve him. The silent, spooky, cloak thing he had going on was just a bit too freaky, even for Logan. And that whisper was down right creepy.

The teen cradled the music box to his cloaked chest, apparently deep in thought. "_Is that why they hate me so much?"_

Logan sighed. He wasn't really good at this sort of stuff. Charles was better at getting through to the distressed, distrustful ones. "Yeah, kid, that's why I'm here. There's a place, Xavier Institute, where people like us are safe."

The mutant teen lowered his cloaked head to look at the box he was holding. "_Safe…" _He repeated to himself. "…_I don't think I remember safe…"_

"What do ya say kid? We're willing ta help ya. That's gotta be better than sitting in this graveyard listening to your music box." Logan said getting to his feet and brushing the dust off his jeans.

There were several long minutes of silence. "_…alright."_


	2. Plane trip

**A/N: **

**'blah' = thoughts **

**~blah~ = mental speech**

**And of course the italics are Sam's creepy voice.**

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Though the teen never agreed that his name was Sam, Logan figured it must be since every time he said the name he noticed the hood of the cloak turned slightly towards him. "How long were you in there, kid?" Logan asked as they made their way through the wet and vaguely misty forest.

"_A long time…" _Sam said still cradling the music box to his chest like it was the most precious thing in the world. "_They can't hurt me if they can't find me…" _He added following behind Logan like a wraith. Silent and stealthy.

Logan cast the teen a glance over his shoulder. "You are one creepy kid, you know that?" Sam didn't answer. But then Logan hadn't really expected him to either. It wasn't long before they reached where Logan had left the Blackbird in a field. "Alright, Ghosty this is our ride."

"_Ghosty?" _Sam echoed.

Logan had –by now- figured that the whisper wasn't from lack of speaking but just the way the mutant's voice sounded. It was still creepy as hell. "What'dya expect when you hide out in a graveyard?" Logan asked as he pressed the button that would lower the loading ramp.

"…_point taken…" _Sam muttered gripping his music box more tightly. In a matter of minutes both of them were sitting in the Blackbird, waiting for the systems to come online.

Logan noticed that the smell from the graveyard had followed them. He only assumed that it was Sam. There was no telling when the teen had last had a shower. 'Or food.' Logan added to himself remembering the way the bones of Sam's wrist stuck out from under the black gloves.

It wasn't long before Sam had reopened the music box. The teen stared down at the drum as it spun, the tiny knobs flicking the proper notes as it rotated. Logan glanced back from the pilot's seat. Sam was curled up in the furthest chair he could find. A small black ball with the music box cradled in his lap.

The Blackbird rose into the air and quickly ascended above the rain clouds. The moon was almost full, just a sliver of black on its edge. "_Logan?"_

Logan nearly jumped at the whisper of his name. That was the first time Sam had called him by name. He turned slightly to look back at the teen. "What is it, kid?" He asked turning back to the task of flying.

_"Do mutants…forget things?" _ Sam asked in an even quieter voice. Logan hadn't thought it possible to be even quieter.

"Everybody forgets things, Ghosty." He said non-committaly.

Sam was silent again. The tune of the music box filled the silence nicely, almost a replacement for Sam's lack of conversation. Luckily Logan didn't particularly care if Sam spoke or not. But he knew that half-pint (better known as Kitty Pryde) would find this new mutant's silence annoying.

Logan heard the winding of the music box. "_But…" _Sam broke off as the music returned to full strength. "…_I…can't even remember my name half the time…" _He confided softly. "_Is that normal?"_

Logan shifted in the pilot's seat uncomfortably. "It's not a mutant thing if that's what you're asking." He answered gruffly.

"_I see…" _Sam grew quiet once again. Seemingly absorbed by the music box he was curled around.

'Geeze, Charles, what is up with this kid you sent me to get?' He thought as he kept the Blackbird level above the clouds. It wasn't particularly hard but it was a good distraction so that he wouldn't dwell on Sam's strangeness. The music box was still playing its sad tune. 'Uses that thing like a baby's security blanket…' Logan thought sourly.

After a while of nothing but the repetitive music of the box that Sam cradled, broken only by the sound of winding, Logan was starting to get slightly curious. "What's the story with that music box anyway?" He asked gruffly. "You sure play it a lot."

Sam paused in his winding of the box's key. "_It was…a gift…I think." _Sam said going back to the task of winding his precious music box. "_From my Mother…"_

Logan bit back the retort he was about to say. How could you not _know _if something was a gift or not? But then Sam had said something about forgetting things. Maybe it was a side effect of his mutation or something. Logan huffed in annoyance before turning back to his job of piloting.

~Logan, How is everything coming?~ The familiar voice of Charles Xavier asked inside of the gruff man's head.

Logan glanced back at the ball of black. ~I got him, but this kid's freaky Charles.~

~Him?~ Xavier echoed. ~Cerebro showed a female.~

Logan took another careful look at the teen, who -like normal- ignored him in favor of the music box. ~There was only one person around that place, Charles. And Sam was it. But I haven't seen even his face. Keeps it hidden all the time under a hood.~

Xavier seemed to think for a few minutes. ~Why don't you ask him then, Logan?~

Logan sighed but turned in his seat slightly to better see the teenager. "Hey, Ghosty?" Sam raised his head slightly and Logan caught a glimpse of those yellow and green eyes again. "You a boy or a girl?"

~Very subtle, Logan.~ Xavier commented. Logan ignored him.

Sam quickly looked back down at the music box in his lap. "_I…I've been both…" _He answered sounding awkward and unsure.

"What'dya mean both?" Logan asked raising an eyebrow at the hidden teen.

Sam seemed to shrink. "_I…I can't really…explain…" _He mumbled as his gloved hands picked at the corner of his music box.

~It's the mutation, Logan.~ Xavier supplied. ~Cerebro must have picked up Sam's most recent body instead of his original.~

~Okay, Chuck, ya lost me…~

~I'll explain more when you arrive. For now, just focus on making Sam less nervous.~ Xavier suggested.

Logan scoffed. Yeah, He was a real _pro _at making people _not _nervous. If only Ororo hadn't been on that trip to Africa she would have been sent instead. Logan sighed. Storm was so much better at dealing with the kids than he was.


	3. A Moment of Silence

**A/N: **

**'blah' = thoughts **

**~blah~ = mental speech**

**And of course the italics are Sam's creepy voice.**

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Sam stared down at the music box, eyes seeing and yet not seeing the movements. The music started to slow and Sam automatically re-wound it. He didn't even know why he never let it stop playing; he just had to re-wind it. It was almost a compulsion.

Sam glanced up and saw that Logan was sufficiently busy with his task of flying the plane. Carefully the teen found the tab on the inside of the music box's lid and pulled the red velvet away to reveal the hidden compartment. It wasn't a large space; just enough for a few shreds of paper that Sam had saved for one reason or another (none of which he was guaranteed to remember at any given time).

He picked up the first piece of paper that had fallen and studied the print carefully. It was a newspaper clipping of a headline. 'SEARCH ENDED FOR LOCAL TEEN' Sam tilted his head thoughtfully. Why had he saved that one? Figuring that it must be important he put the headline on the glass that protected the gears of the music box from harm.

The next piece of paper was what he'd always assumed was his name. 'Sam Vance' scribbled on a corner of notebook paper. That scrap of paper was why he'd spent the last month or so in the Vance family mausoleum. He'd figured he was supposed to be there.

The music box was starting to slow again. Sam wound it up without bothering to think about it. He couldn't let the music stop. He just couldn't. Already his mind was back on the scraps that he'd saved in the secret compartment of the music box.

There was only one other possible clue that Sam had hidden away. He didn't know where it came from, how he'd gotten it, or even why it was important but he kept it on the off chance he'd remember. A date. December 3.

"Hey Ghosty." Logan called. Sam looked up at the sound of his new nickname. "You can go to sleep if you want. Won't be there for a while yet."

Sam traced the lines of December with his gloved index finger. "_I don't sleep." _He informed simply.

"Look, ya aint in any danger, kid. There's no reason to stay up. Ya must be exhausted." Logan said annoyance tinting his voice.

Sam shook his head slightly as he put the scraps of paper back in the secret compartment. He closed the fake lid and turned his eyes back down to the rotating gears. _"You don't understand…I **can't** sleep." _Sam said as he watched the gold barrel turn behind the glass. "_I've tried…"_

"Oh." Logan said cleverly. He gave a frustrated sigh. So much for his attempt at being friendly. Why, oh Why, couldn't Charles have come too? He liked it better when he was just the brawny chauffer guy. With…claws…and martial arts training. Point is he wasn't good with people!

~Charles are you sure you want this kid at the institute?~ Logan asked his friend mentally.

~Yes, Logan. He needs help and I've spent a great deal of time trying to pinpoint his location so that we could do just that.~ Xavier replied.

Logan sighed and glanced behind him for what felt like the millionth time. ~I don't know, Charles, the kid's not very…friendly.~

~Because you are?~

Logan growled slightly at the jab but let Charles have the last word. It wasn't worth arguing over, especially since Logan had been thinking something remarkably similar just a few moments ago. Still, he wasn't sure about this Sam kid. Even the Elf hadn't hidden his real appearance for as long as Sam had. Honestly what could be worse than being blue and fuzzy?

Suddenly Logan noticed the silence pressing down on the cabin. He glanced over to see that Sam had for once, closed the lid to the music box. "You okay, kid?" Logan asked curiously. Other than the short walk to the Blackbird Sam hadn't gone a second without that sad tune playing.

Sam nodded, barely visible by the slight movement of the hood. "_I just…did not wish to listen anymore." _He said awkwardly. It was a lie. Logan was almost certain of it. But he didn't press the teen any further.

Sam ran his hand over the top of the music box, the feeling of tears burning at his eyes. If he had listened any longer to the music he would have been a sobbing mess on the ground and he didn't want that. He didn't know exactly why he sometimes felt the overwhelming urge to beak into hysterics. There never seemed to be any particular trigger. It just happened every so often. And he'd found the only way to stop from breaking down was to simply stop everything and wait for it to pass.

He took a deep breath and leaned back against the chair before closing his eyes. His body stiffened as he lay there, feeling heavy and unfamiliar. Time seemed to fall away as well, seeping into a black void where nothing else existed. He wouldn't allow anything else to exist.

Distant yelling filled his mind but he pushed it away. It wasn't important. All that was important was the black void of nothingness. The yelling became more insistent, the words muffled but somehow still painful. Sam felt fear grip him as he tried to push everything away again.

After several minutes of struggle he succeeded in calming himself and opened his eyes. His grip tightened on the music box on his lap. Why did that yelling always bring such fear?

Sam pushed the thought away and rubbed his eyes. He had no idea how long he had been meditating but it had left him rather stiff. "Thought you said you didn't sleep." Logan said gruffly. "You were out for almost an hour."

"_That was meditating…not sleeping. It's not the same." _Sam mumbled before opening his music box again. Now that he wasn't on the verge of a breakdown he needed to hear the familiar tune again. It soothed him like nothing else could.


	4. Mutation

**A/N: An obligatory information giving chapter. Kind of boring but a necessary evil. At least one or two questions may be answered here...**

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"_Are you sure you wish me to be here? I'm not exactly well liked…" _A strange whisper asked from beneath the hood of the heavy black cloak that had been patched several times. The voice seemed to echo slightly and sent shivers down the spines of whoever was listening. _"I can return to my…residence if it will be better."_

Professor Charles Francis Xavier raised an eyebrow at the cloaked figure. "I assure you that won't be necessary. You are among friends now, we do not judge as harshly as I'm sure you are accustomed to." The mind-reading man had noticed the mutant's stumble. The poor teen hadn't known what word to use. 'Home' apparently wasn't accurate; after all they had located the mutant abilities in an abandoned cemetery, which was not the homiest of environments.

"_But are you sure?" _The mutant asked again.

"Absolutely. I've already called the other students to come and meet you. I'm sure they will be pleased to help in whatever way they can." Almost as soon as the Professor said this, the door opened and several people came in; all talking loudly to one another.

The tallest boy who wore red sunglasses looked around before fanning his hand in front of his face. "Is there something wrong with the plumbing Professor? It smells like a sewer pipe exploded or something." He said looking around.

Xavier sent him a scolding look before glancing at the newest member who had hunched into the thick cloak even more. "Everyone I'd like you to meet Sam Vance. Sam is going to be staying here with us while I help him adjust to his powers." He said gesturing to the figure.

"Like, why is he wearing that cape thing?" A girl with a ponytail asked.

The boy standing next to her elbowed her hard in the side, though his elbow sunk through her only a heartbeat after it connected. "Hush Kitty." He reached over and pressed a button on his watch. The image of a fairly normal boy with blue-black hair shimmered before disappearing. Instead a blue furry teen was standing in his place. He understood the reason for the cloak. He had worn one just like it –minus the patches- when he had first arrived. Back when that was the only way to hide what he was. "I'm Kurt." He said hopping forward slightly.

The Professor nodded happily. He had hoped that Kurt and Sam would find common ground. Their mutations were both rather…obvious. Sam turned slightly and studied the blue mutant for a minute. Before he could say anything though another girl, with long red hair and bright green eyes, stepped forward. "I'm Jean. If you need anything just be sure to ask."

"I'm Shadowcat but everyone calls me Kitty!" Kitty said happily, waving slightly at the still silent figure.

"Rogue." The last girl muttered, arms folded over her chest and looking as if she'd rather be somewhere else.

Jean elbowed the last boy, the one who wore the sunglasses. "Ow! Uh…I'm Scott. Scott Summers." He said rubbing his side with his right hand.

The Professor nodded to himself. "There's also Evan and Ororo but they are on a trip to Africa and won't be here for several more days. Why don't you introduce yourself, Sam. You don't need to hide yourself."

Sam turned to look at the Professor who nodded his head encouragingly. Slowly Sam lifted gloved hands to the hood of the cloak. The mutant hesitated for a moment before gently lowering the hood. A girl –probably about fifteen or so- with bone white hair and piercing gold eyes that were tinged green around her slit pupils looked up at them. Her skin was ashy and her lips had paled to a blue color, as had all of her veins. But by far the most shocking thing was the way her cheek was sliced almost clean off, showing bright pink flesh and the white bone beneath.

Kitty took a shocked stumble back. "Woah..." Sam looked away instantly.

Scott cleared his throat "You're uh…you're cheek is sort of…falling off." He said awkwardly.

Sam lifted a hand and touched the ragged tear of flesh and skin. "_Sorry…I thought the stitches would hold longer…"_ Jean winced at the eerie whisper. Though Sam seemed to be speaking normally it still came out wispy and ghost-like. "_I'll fix it better when I can get a mirror."_ When Sam spoke they could just see the gleam from tiny fangs.

Kitty -having gotten over her initial shock- tried to steer the conversation in a less spooky direction. "Professor, I thought you said Sam was…ya know a boy."

Sam pulled the hood back up to hide inside the cloak's shadows. He had almost preferred the talk about sewing his face back on. "Sam is…well, it's complicated. You see-"

"_I was born a boy…I-I think…" _Sam answered, still holding the piece of flesh against his/her face. "_The details get sort of…hazy."_

Wolverine chose that moment to walk into the room. Having been the one to bring Sam in he wasn't particularly shocked at the sound of Sam's voice –at least not any more. "Room's ready for ya, Ghosty." He said pointing over his shoulder with his thumb.

"_Must you call me that?"_

"Yeah, I must." Wolverine replied tersely. "Come on, I'll take you to your room." He added waving the re-cloaked mutant along.

Sam paused to grab a wooden box from where it had been sitting on a side table. Cradling it close the newest student followed Logan without fuss. He hurried past the group of five teens without looking at them.

Once the door had closed Professor Xavier turned to them. "As I'm sure you've noticed, Sam's mutations make it difficult to be around people. Technically he died three years ago but his mutation keeps him alive."

"What's his mutation, Professor?" Jean asked curiously.

"Sam has the ability to leave a body and –for lack of a better word- possess another. However the body begins to decay and as Scott so subtly noted it's a process that is rather near impossible to hide. That, I believe, is Sam's third or fourth body he's inhabited." Professor Xavier explained.

"How did he die, Professor?" Kurt asked.

Xavier shook his head. "He refuses to talk about it. And I believe he may not even fully know himself. Sam's expressed a great deal of confusion when trying to recall detail of his life before his mutation activated. I believe it would be best not to bring up the topic with him, the changes he's gone through the past few years has been difficult at best."

"If he died three years ago -and that's when his mutation activated- then why are we just now contacting him?" Scott asked raising an eyebrow behind his ruby shades.

"Because he has been moving around constantly for most of that time. And every time he changes bodies I lose the trail for a few months, giving him a remarkable head start." Xavier explained. "He's very difficult to track, even with Cerebro. As soon as I was able to pinpoint his location I sent Logan to pick him up."


	5. Redress

**A/N: Gods I am sooo in love with my own story right now...**

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Sam glanced around the room Logan had led him to. It was definitely nicer than the mausoleum. A thick beige carpet cushioned his steps as he walked over to put the music box on the side table. A twin bed with clean red sheets was up against one wall and there was a dresser almost directly opposite it. A closet was to the left of the door. Sam glanced at the wood paneling that surrounded him before turning his attention to the mirror that was sitting at the top of the short dresser.

Sam noticed Logan had already left. 'Might as well fix my face…' He thought lowering the hood of his cloak. He walked over to stand in front of the mirror. It was a bit gruesome to look at. Digging in one of the cloak's nearly invisible pockets he soon grasped a roll of thick black thread.

The needle he had placed near the collar of the cloak so that he wouldn't lose it. After he unrolled a long section of thread he used the tiny fangs to easily slice it away from the roll. It was about the only thing his fangs were useful for. From experience he knew that the gloves would make it almost impossible to thread the needle so Sam quickly shed them, putting them to the side.

After threading the needle he leaned closer to the mirror and started to sew the loose flesh back into place. He hadn't been working for very long when he heard someone gasp "Doesn't that hurt?"

Sam glanced over and saw Jean standing in the doorway with a shocked look on her face. Apparently Logan hadn't thought to close the door behind him when he left. "_I can't feel pain…" _Sam replied turning back to his task.

Jean could believe it. Sam wasn't even flinching when he pushed that needle through his skin. It was like he wasn't doing anything at all. Boy did it freak her out, but then, that was no excuse to be rude. "Do you need any help?"

Sam paused and looked over at the red head. "_I can handle it." _He said feeling the messy row of stitches he'd already finished. "_Besides, you look like you're about to be sick." _He said noticing the slightly green tinge on the girl's suddenly too pale skin. "_But you can close the door for me."_

"Uh, sure!" Jean said reaching forward and closing the door so that nobody else would see the vaguely horrifying sight of Sam sewing his face on. Truthfully she was relieved that he had turned down her offer of help. She wasn't entirely sure if she could have done that. Even if Sam couldn't feel pain it was still bothersome for her to even think about.

It took at least fifteen minutes before Sam was satisfied that his cheek wouldn't fall off again. After finishing with the sharp needle Sam poked it back through the fabric of his cloak where he was sure he wouldn't loose it. The thread went back into his pocket. No sooner had he put the thread away then there was a knock on his bedroom door.

"_Who is it?" _He asked warily.

"It's me, Jean." Jean called back. "Professor sent me to give you some clothes."

Sam glanced at the messy stitches on his face before pulling his hood back up. He'd already disturbed Jean enough for one day. _"Come in."_

Jean poked her head in slightly hesitantly. She'd really rather not see the newest member of their team going about sewing herself –or rather HIMself- together. Relieved that Sam had apparently finished she completely entered the room, a bundle of clothes in her arm. "I didn't know what size you are so I just brought a bunch of things."

"_That's fine." _Sam muttered as Jean put the pile of clothes on the foot of his bed. Sam fingered the edge of a blue polo shirt thoughtfully. "_Can I ask you something?"_

"Of course." Jean said.

Sam picked up a pair of jeans and examined them as he gathered his thoughts. "_Does anyone out there know you're not like them?" _He asked as he took the few steps needed to get to the window.

Jean wrung her hands behind her back nervously. "Not really. Just my parents, why?"

"_…no reason." _Sam said picking at a loose thread on the pocket of the jeans in his hands.

Jean cleared her throat and made an effort to give Sam a bright smile despite the fact that he wasn't looking at her. "Is there anything else you need, Sam? I could bring up some food if you want."

"_No, thank you, Jean." _Sam said shaking his head slightly. "_I'm fine here."_

"Alright. Just call if you change your mind. Leave your clothes out and we'll wash them for you in the morning." The redhead said as she left the room.

Once Jean was gone Sam examined the clothes that she had brought. Most would probably be too big, but he wasn't exactly picky. Sam removed the heavy cloak and instantly felt exposed. He sighed and hung the cloak on the bedpost. After several minutes of searching through the pile Sam found a pair of baggy cargo pants that miraculously stayed on his boney hips. His next find was a white tank top that he was happy to find didn't show any stomach. Finally a dark green button up with long sleeves was added to the ensemble, though Sam decided he didn't care enough to button it.

Sam ran a hand through his shoulder-length white hair as he frowned at his reflection. "_Look like an anorexic girl…" _He muttered sourly. He could see his collarbone with far too much clarity and if he didn't wear the button down shirt, his ribs would have been visible as well. And of course he _was _in a different person's body so he automatically felt like a stranger was looking back at him. A too thin stranger.

Sufficiently disgusted with the prospect of his current body, Sam turned away from the mirror. Irritation started building up as he looked around the room he had been given to stay in. He had no idea what he was doing here. He didn't know what these people planned to do to 'help' him.

Sam went over to his music box and opened the lid. Instantly the familiar notes filled the quiet room. The mutant felt his irritation starting to melt away. It was still there but it became a shadow in the back of his mind where he could ignore it. Instead he decided to stick to safer topics. Like the teens that he had met only an hour or so earlier.

Kurt had been…well a surprise to put it bluntly. Especially after he pressed that button and turned blue. 'I wonder how he did that…maybe that's why they brought me here? To help me look normal again?' A slight tinge of hope filled his mind and a small smile lifted the corners of his blue lips.

Sam lay down on the bed, the music box on the comforter next to his head. He'd instantly felt a strange connection to Kurt. Not really a friendship or anything like that but a feeling of understanding. As if his appearance was as normal as anyone else's. It was definitely a pleasant change for the homeless teen.

Kitty had vaguely annoyed him. He couldn't put his finger on why exactly that was. Perhaps it was her utter lack of tact or her cheerful disposition but Sam found the brief meeting with the girl grating. Rogue, well, Rouge had struck Sam as a lot like himself. Silent, a loner, and someone who could spend hours just thinking. They'd probably get along splendidly if they ever said anything more than a few words to each other. The prospects of that happening however were less than likely at the moment.

Scott had possibly as little tact as Kitty had. The off-handed comment of the 'sewer pipe' had cut deep into Sam's pride. It wasn't as if he could help the fact that his body was breaking down. Sam reached over and rewound the music box. He'd decided he wasn't going to speak to Scott unless absolutely necessary.

The last member, Jean, she was a bit different from the others. She seemed almost too eager to help. Sam imagined a perfect little doll doing what everyone thought a perfect little doll should. He wondered if the redhead even realized that she was doing things because others expected it. By the offer to help sew his cheek back on Sam figured she probably didn't. She'd offered but he could tell she really didn't want to help.

Sam rolled over to look at the ceiling. Kurt and Rouge he'd definitely get along with. Kitty and Scott had gotten on his bad side and would have to redeem themselves. Jean, well, Jean he was reserving judgment for. She wasn't as cut and dry as say…Kitty. Sam sighed and put his thoughts aside as he listened to the repeating tune of the music box. He definitely needed to find some sort of distraction for himself.


	6. First Night

**A/N: This chapter got kinda icky and gruesome...but that doesn't deter me from liking it anyway!**

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Sam glanced over at the clock on the wall. He groaned and flopped back down onto the bed. It was only four in the morning? It felt like it should be around six or so. "_I'm so bored." _He muttered. The distinct disadvantage to not needing sleep was that for many hours of the day there was nothing to do and nobody to talk to. This normally didn't faze Sam as he was a quiet person but for some reason it was irking him at the moment.

Sam pushed himself upright and looked around the room. There was nothing to do. If he had been back in the cemetery he could have busied himself with any number of things. He had considered it his rent to keep the cemetery slightly in order. It had been ten times as bad a condition when he first arrived there.

Deciding he might as well explore a bit he got to his feet. He moved to grab his cloak but paused. It wasn't likely anybody was up to see him and he wasn't planning on being out and about for long. Sam thought about it before daring to leave the room without the cloak.

He explored the hallways and the rooms he was almost certain weren't anybody's bedrooms. Eventually he wandered into the kitchen where to his surprise someone was sitting at the table. An even greater surprise was that it was Kitty, drinking milk from the container. "_You know…you really shouldn't drink from the carton." _Sam commented.

Kitty jumped at the first sound of his voice and spun around. "Whoa, Sam. You, like, seriously scared me there." She said before wiping her upper lip of the slight milk mustache that clung there. "Anyway I was gonna finish it all."

Sam raised his eyebrow before shrugging. "_I don't really care…I've never been able to drink milk anyway." _Kitty blinked a bit. "_Lactose intolerant." _He answered her unspoken question.

"Oh, I guess that means, like, no ice-cream either, huh? That too bad."She said taking another large swig of milk. After she wiped her mouth again she turned to Sam. "What are you doing up so late, anyway?"

"_I don't sleep." _He answered as he walked around the fairly large eat in kitchen. He was really wishing he had his cloak to hide the way his bones stuck out but he was determined not to appear bothered by its absence either. "_So I decided to explore." _

Kitty tilted her head slightly. "That must get pretty boring…"

Sam shrugged indifferently. "_No more boring than sitting in a statistics class." _Suddenly Sam straightened. Had he taken statistics? He hadn't thought he had and yet the sentence had just come right out. Come to think of it…he hadn't known he had been allergic to milk either. Those details had just flowed out of his memories. And yet when he tried to call them up again all he got was a frustrating haze of nothingness.

Sam closed the cupboard he had been inspecting, suddenly frustrated. "_I'll see you later." _He grumbled to Kitty before leaving and returning to his room. He felt like breaking something. Or punching something. And for once he didn't feel like listening to his music box and letting it sooth the frustration away.

He went to his cloak and dug around in the pockets until he found a butterfly knife that he carried with him. He flipped it open, spinning it as he did so, so that he could grab the second handle and not have it pinch his fingers. He figured he might as well do something useful since there was so much time left before anybody woke up.

He entered the closest bathroom and locked the door behind him. He turned the shower on making sure it was fairly hot. He wasn't particularly surprised at the amount of dirt and grime that came off his pale skin. After he had washed off he grabbed his knife from where it was sitting on the counter.

The first thing he did was slice off a great deal of the white hair until it was in a slightly more boyish fashion, leaving messy bangs to try and hide his strange eyes. But the newly cropped off hair wasn't near enough to take away the feminine quality of his face. He frowned at his reflection in the misty mirror. It would have to do.

Sam sighed and picked up his knife again. This was the more unpleasant part. Scott's comment earlier had reminded him that he hadn't taken care of the dead flesh in a while. It wouldn't cut out all of the smell but it would cut out a great deal of it. Sam was careful as he examined his body for any spots that were rotting. There was a particularly big spot on his right thigh and another behind his left knee. A few smaller spots were scattered over his body and he carefully cut them away. "_I feel like such a masochist." _He muttered as he put the knife down.

He cleaned out the fresh wounds and wrapped them in a few layers of bandages before getting back into his clothes. His clothes mostly covered the bandages except for the layers that were wrapped around his neck like a choker. Sam sighed and gathered up the cut hair and spoiled flesh. There wasn't much he could do about it. At least he wouldn't smell quite as bad anymore. He couldn't tell how much better the smell had gotten but he knew any improvement was probably welcome.

Sam threw everything into the bin only to decide he didn't really want people seeing the pieces of flesh in the bathroom trash. He pulled the bag out and carried it back downstairs where he threw it in the kitchen trash instead. Luckily this time he didn't run into anybody. Glancing at the clock he realized that it had taken two hours for him to 'freshen up' to put it discreetly.

He was just starting to leave the kitchen the swinging door opened and Logan walked in already looking showered and fully dressed. He raised an eyebrow when he saw Sam standing there. "You really don't sleep do ya, Ghosty?"

Sam frowned. "_Why would I lie about something like that?"_

Logan shrugged and walked past, making a beeline for the coffee pot. Suddenly he stopped and leaned closer to Sam. He sniffed a bit. "Ya don't smell as bad either. Finally take a shower?"

Sam huffed in annoyance. "_Goodbye Logan." _He quickly made his way back to his room and closed the door just as Rogue was coming out of the door directly across from his.

Suddenly the Professor's voice filled his head. ~Sam, I was wondering if, after breakfast, you would join me in the medical room?~ Sam flopped onto his bed with a sigh. He really didn't want to go to the medical room. But he sent his mental agreement anyway. Whatever the Professor wanted he'd might as well get it out of the way now.


	7. Breakfast and Basics

**A/N: This is a kind of long chapter. Yay for inspiration. Oh and thanks to BamfIsAwesome for the seating arrangements. I wasn't originally going to have Sam attend Breakfast but I reconsidered. Plus the seating arrangements just...made sense to me.**

* * *

Breakfast was an…awkward affair to put it lightly. Sam and curled up in his cloak on the first chair he had seen, the one near the end of the table and next to Rouge. Rouge, for her part, didn't say anything about his seat choice or the hood he had once again slipped down over his face.

He had apparently arrived fairly early; only Rogue, himself, Jean and the Professor were at the table. Scott came in next taking the seat across from Jean to sit on the Rouge's left side. Kitty fell _through _the ceiling and then the plate of toast, apparently having missed her target of the seat next to Jean. Kurt appeared in the room in a cloud of smoke accompanied by a loud _bamf _noise.

He'd looked around the room before choosing the seat on Sam's right just as Logan came in. Logan took his seat on the Professor's right side, leaving the one across from him free. There was another free seat next to Kitty. Everyone jumped on the food as if it would disappear in one of those clouds of smoke that Kurt seemed to produce.

Sam tried to remain as invisible as possible in his seat. Only when Jean asked why he wasn't eating did he take a few tentative nibbles on a bit of toast, quickly washed down by almost his full glass of water. As he nibbled on his toast he listened in on the conversations around him; which some of the others were trying to get him involved with.

"He's just, like, so immature." Kitty was saying to Jean. "Like stealing soda's with his powers is cool or something. When will he, like, grow up?"

"All guys are like that at some point, Kitty." Jean assured her.

Sam turned to Kurt, "_Who are they talking about?"_

Kurt paused mid-way through bringing his spoon of oatmeal to his mouth. "Oh, just Lance Alvers. He's another mutant dat goes to our school. Kitty's got a huuuuge crush on him." He said in a taunting singsong voice.

"I do not!" Kitty snapped instantly.

"Den vhy are you blushing?" Kurt asked leaning half over the table and raising his eyebrows at her.

"I'm not blushing!" Kitty denied.

Scott smiled a bit. "You are kinda blushing." He confirmed.

Kitty crossed her arms and turned away in a huff. Sam barely heard her mumble continued denials of both a crush and the bright pink blush that was painted across her cheeks.

Luckily, breakfast ended rather quickly as Scott glanced at his watch and suddenly realized that they were running late for school. As the other teens ran out of the room, or _bamf-_ed in Kurt's case, Sam finally pushed away the mostly complete piece of toast.

"Now then, Sam, I need to do a quick analysis of your body and powers." Xavier said wiping his mouth with his napkin before rolling away from the table.

Sam frowned a bit. "_But, Professor, I will have to _change _bodies eventually. Examining my body seems pointless."_

"Not as pointless as you'd think." Xavier said mysteriously.

"Just go with him, Ghosty." Logan ordered gruffly.

Sam sighed a bit but did as he was told. He followed the Professor down the hallway to what appeared to be a solid wall. Then, quite suddenly, the door opened and an elevator appeared. _"A little dramatic don't you think?"_

"We can't have people who visit stumbling across the lower sections of the school. It is for the safety of everyone that we hide some of the more…unique parts of our complex." Xavier said as he wheeled into the elevator. Sam followed him and the doors closed.

The elevator was surprisingly fast and smooth as it descended. Only a few moments after entering the doors were opening again. Sam had barely realized when they stopped. The new hallway was a completely different affair than the upstairs. Upstairs there had been rich wood panels and carpeting. Down here, however, the walls and floor were cool steel and doors a high-tech wonder.

Sam followed the Professor to one of the rooms down a side hall. The room inside was almost pure white. Like something out of a science fiction movie. A few beds were stationed against the side wall and a large variety of machines were scattered around. "_Wow…you guys, uh, spare no expense, huh?" _Sam said looking around at all of the high-grade medical equipment.

"It is better to take care of our own. Hospitals would ask too many questions as I'm sure you realize." Xavier said as he gestured to one of the beds. "Have a seat, Sam. All of the tests are really very standard."

After an hour of basic tests, they had established a few very basic things. Sam's pulse rate was 0 beats per minute, therefore his blood pressure was 0 over 0. His respiration rate was again 0. And his temperature was 70 degrees Fahrenheit; which, much to Sam's surprise, was not in fact room temperature but five degrees below it.

They ignored things like height and weight seeing as that would change every time Sam changed bodies. But the Professor did draw several vials of blood, which was more difficult than it sounds seeing as how Sam had very little blood in his body and the blood he did have didn't move through his veins anymore. Xavier said nothing about the gaping holes in Sam's body, having read the reason for them in Sam's mind.

Just after Xavier had taken his blood Sam felt distinctly sick. His mouth watered and his stomach clenched painfully. He'd felt the feeling enough to know what was coming next. The Professor seemed to notice but as he opened his mouth to ask what was wrong Sam reached the end of his rope. He jumped up and ran into the adjoined bathroom where he barely made it to the toilet in time to throw up the meager breakfast he had eaten.

"Sam? Are you alright?" Xavier asked from the open doorway. Sam glanced over and saw the Professor's concerned look before nodding. "Are you feeling ill?" Xavier asked, concern still etched into his face.

"_No…I just-" _Sam sighed and rinsed his mouth out with a cup of water from the sink. After he spat the foul water back out he continued with what he had been saying. "_I tried, Professor, but can't keep any food down. I throw it all up afterwards. I thought maybe it was because I never had any food that wasn't old but…" _He drifted off and sighed. Yet another thing to add to the list of things he couldn't do. Really, what was the point of living if you couldn't even do the most basic things?

~There is more to life than eating and sleeping, Sam.~ Xavier commented as Sam flushed the toilet.

"Like what?" Sam asked, not bothering to wonder how Xavier had caught his thought.

"Like having friends and being happy." Xavier supplied. "We will help you through this if you'll just let us, Sam." Sam sighed and went back to the hospital bed where he flopped across lazily. Xavier decided it was a good time to change the subject. Only time would tell what Sam's answer would be. "Now, we should arrange for your registration with the others."

Sam's head shot up instantly. "_Registration?"_

"For school." Xavier answered with a smile.

"_B-but Professor, I…I'm a rotting corpse. How am I supposed to go to school?" _Sam asked sitting up completely. "_A-and what about when I change bodies? How are you going to explain that?"_

"We can program an image inducer -like Kurt's- to whatever appearance you'd like, then it wouldn't matter when you changed bodies because the image would be the same." Xavier explained with that same knowing smile.

Sam gaped for a minute as he came up with another argument. "_I smell." _He said bluntly.

Xavier smiled a bit wider. "Since you got rid of the…er…spoiled parts you almost can't smell it anymore. Unless you're Logan, which I doubt anyone at Bayville High has his sense of smell. A few simple measures could easily mask the faint traces that are left."

Sam stared at him dumbly. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't come up with any other argument. "Now, I believe we should continue with the tests." Xavier said turning away from the stunned teen.


	8. Hiding

**A/N: Nothing much to say here...but it's a bit shorter of a chapter.**

* * *

Sam looked at the mirror in amazement. "_Professor, I must say this image inducer is incredible_." He said brushing his now brown bangs away from his completely green eyes. His face had grown slightly more angular and the feminine lines had been drastically reduced.

He still wore the clothes Jean had given him but now his bones didn't poke through and the slight curves had been straightened. He was a boy again. At least that's what he looked like. Even his skin had taken on a slightly healthier tinge, though he was still pale. His veins didn't show, his lips weren't blue and the stitches that held parts of his body together had disappeared. The change was simply astounding.

Xavier smiled, "I'm glad you approve."

"_Approve? Professor…I guarantee I more than approve."_ He said with a slight laugh of disbelief.

Xavier gave Sam a few moments to take in his temporary appearance. "Now, Sam, why don't you tell me what you know about your powers." He said wheeling himself over to where he had set up a small desk.

"_Uh, right…" _Sam said tearing his eyes away from the mirror. "_Well, uh…it's kinda hard to explain…"_

"That's alright, just start with the basics." Xavier said unperturbed.

Sam rubbed behind his ear and sat down on one of the nearby white chairs. "_Ok, uh, I guess it's pretty obvious I possess people. It's easier when it's someone who's already dead. Living people fight back and I try not to take them over."_

The Professor raised an eyebrow at that. "The body you have now, was she dead?"

Sam nodded. "_Drowned in a river near the cemetery Logan found me at. Everyone just said her body got washed downstream but I just happened to find it first." _Sam looked away, not quite willing to see the professor's reaction to his snatching the poor girl's body. When the professor didn't say anything Sam decided to continue. "_Uh, usually I don't have to change bodies for about a year or so unless something happens."_

"What would happen?" Xavier asked curiously.

Sam shrugged. "_I got decapitated once…that sorta hurried me along."_

"Decapitated?" Xavier echoed with amazement.

"_Yeah, a cable snapped and got me right across the throat. I stopped hanging around in cities after that one…" _Sam muttered in explanation.

"I…see…please, continue. Anything you already know about your powers may be helpful." Xavier said. "You said you could possess living people as well?" He prompted.

"_S-sorta…" _Sam glanced up at the professor but he didn't seem to be too disturbed by the conversation. "_I only tried once and that was by accident. The guy fought with me for control and eventually I had to leave."_

Xavier looked mildly surprised. "He was able to push you out?"

Sam shrugged. "_I guess."_

"Interesting. We'll have to do some tests with your abilities to see how easy it is for you to take over a living person." Xavier said putting a hand to his chin in thought. "The implications are really quite astounding."

"_If you say so…" _Sam muttered. "_I didn't like doing it though, Professor."_

"Why not?"

Sam rubbed behind his ear again. "_I…just didn't like what happened, Professor." _He said awkwardly.

Xavier frowned; he could tell when someone was trying to dodge the question and though he didn't want to force Sam to tell him anything he wasn't comfortable with, this information could be important. "Sam, you know you can tell me anything. I won't judge you for things you couldn't control. You said yourself it was an accident."

Sam fidgeted in his seat before sighing. "_I'm sorry, Professor. It's just…it's not something I'm ready to talk about right now…"_

Xavier sighed but nodded. "Alright, but just remember I'm still here if you decide to tell someone about it." Sam gave a small nod but didn't look over. "I think that's enough for today."

Sam got up instantly and headed for the door. He paused at the doorframe. "_Professor?" _

"Yes, Sam?" Xavier answered looking up.

Sam continued to look down at the floor. "_I-it's nothing personal or anything it's just…"_

"You don't have to explain, Sam." Xavier assured. "Take your time, I'm not going anywhere."

Sam looked over and looked about ready to say something more. He gave a quick nod and hurried out of the room and back towards the elevator. The teen sighed as he pressed the call button for the elevator. This idea of figuring out his powers was great and all but he would prefer it if he didn't have to bring up all of his mistakes he'd already made. He could only hope that Professor Xavier wouldn't press the matter. It didn't seem like he would, so maybe everything would be okay.

The elevator doors slid open and Sam stepped in, pressing the proper button as he did so. In only a few minutes Sam was stepping out into the dead-end hallway of the upper level. He decided that he'd had quite enough socialization for one day and turned to the direction of the staircase.

As he was passing the kitchen he caught a glimpse of Logan reading the paper. Sam hurried past, not wanting to attract Logan's attention. The mansion was almost eerily quiet as Sam made his way back towards his room. With everybody currently at school the large house seemed far too empty.

It only took a few minutes for Sam to reach his room. Sitting down on the edge of his un-slept-in bed he pulled his music box over to him. The familiar tune chased away the unnerving quiet and brought a tentative smile to Sam's face. He would like to know why this tune always cheered him up but he couldn't find a particular reason for it in his admittedly shaky memories.

Sam pushed the depressing thoughts out of his mind and lay down next to the box. He stared up at the ceiling and let his thoughts wander wherever they pleased. A slight breeze came in from the windows and Sam was certain that if he could, he would have fallen asleep.


	9. The Problem with School

**A/N: I'm on a roll with this story right now but it's because I'm all excited! We're finally getting down to business of finding out about Sam's past. I'm all a quiver with anticipation.**

* * *

It had taken Sam all of a minute to realize what a horrible mistake agreeing to go to school had been. Actually, it was the exact moment he had opened his mouth and spoke. The teacher's eyes had widened in shock and Sam had instantly realized his mistake. Luckily, Kurt was in the same homeroom and was quick to come up with a cover story. "Sorry, he, uh, has laryngitis."

The teacher still looked stunned but willingly swallowed the lie Kurt fed her. "I see. Well, I hope you get better soon, Mr. Vance. Please take your seat and we'll get started."

Sam nodded and hurried to his seat in the back of the room where he promptly put his head down and tried to sink into the desk. Not even there two minutes and already he was mortified. This wouldn't have happened a few days ago. The others at the manor had gotten him to forget, albeit temporarily, how much he didn't fit in.

As soon as the bell had rung he bolted for the door. He quickly found a hiding spot in an old storage room and decided that was where he would stay until Scott took them back to the manor. _What was I thinking? _He asked himself as he curled up in the corner next to a mop and bucket. _That I could be normal again? _Sam scoffed at his own naivety.

He wasn't sure how long he was sitting in the dark but sudden the door opened and someone came in and sat next to him. "Vhat's vrong?" Kurt asked softly. "Does it have anything to do vith the stairs dis morning?"

Sam almost laughed. Almost. Earlier that morning Kitty had rushed downstairs while Sam had been walking up them. She phased through the other mutant but Sam had instinctively taken a step back. He'd ended up rolling down the stairs and landing in a heap at the bottom. Not that it had hurt him or anything.

But that was most definitely _not _what was bothering him. "_What's wrong? What's wrong is how stupid I was in thinking I could manage to be normal again. Just listen to me, Kurt. How long do you think they'll buy that laryngitis excuse?" _Sam asked hugging his knees to his chest.

Kurt was silent for a minute before brightening. "Dat's not so bad. I'll bet da professor could make something to make you sound like everybody else." He said pointing to his own throat.

Sam scoffed again. "_It's just another gadget. Another toy. What difference does it make? I'm still a freak of nature."_

"You're not a freak." Kurt denied instantly.

Sam sighed before turning off the image inducer. "_Look at me, Kurt. I'm held together with stitches and bandages. I've been dead for three years and I don't even know _why." He stopped and tried to recompose himself_. "I just exist and I'm getting tired of it."_

Kurt's eyes widened a bit. "You can't mean dat!"

"_Don't worry, Kurt…it's not like I can _kill_ myself." _Sam muttered dejectedly. Sam got to his feet and pressed the activation button on his inducer. "_I'm going back to the manor…" _He informed as he left the storage closet.

Kurt frowned and followed Sam out of the closet. He quickly caught up with the depressed mutant, "You can't just leave in da middle of school. Vhat vill da professor say?"

Sam sighed and paused to look at Kurt. "_I don't really care, Kurt. If he asks I'll just tell him the truth. I can't deal with this."_

Sam didn't wait for Kurt to reply. Kurt sighed. Sam hadn't been in the best of moods for two days now, ever since the Professor and Sam had gone over the basics of his powers. And now this whole school thing Sam was downright unpleasant. And now he was apparently going to cut the entire rest of the day.

Suddenly Kurt gave a start and jumped forward and grabbed Sam's arm tightly. "_Kurt! Let go!" _Sam snapped as Kurt yanked him into the boy's bathroom that was just a few feet down the hall.

"Nein. Look at your hand!" He said pointing at Sam's right hand.

Sam looked down, his eyes widening at the way his arm ended at his wrist. "_My hand!" _He gasped hiding the gory stump in the crook of his left arm. "_Where did it go?"_

"I don't know!" Kurt said glancing out at the hallway and trying to spot the missing limb. "How did it even fall off?"

_"It must have broken from my fall…" _Sam said shifting from foot to foot nervously. "_Then the bones sliced through and cut it off…If I could feel pain I would have noticed it…"_

"Just stay here." Kurt said. "I vill look for it for you."

"_Wonderful!" _Sam said fighting back the desire to breakdown into hysterics. This wouldn't be a problem if, yet again, he wasn't in school. Kurt must have noticed something was seriously wrong though because he hesitated at the door looking at the other mutant concernedly. "_Find it before someone else does!" _Sam snapped, his voice cracking unevenly.

Kurt hurried out of the bathroom and darted back down the hallway. Luckily nobody was in the hallway because class was currently in-session. After a minute of searching, he found the missing hand and carefully picked it up with as little touch as possible. It was a freakin' **hand **after all.

He hurried back to the bathroom. At least Sam had a legitimate excuse for cutting out early now. To Kurt's surprise Sam wasn't immediately visible when he reentered the bathroom. "Sam?" Sam didn't answer but Kurt's keen ears picked out the sound of someone moving in the furthest bathroom stall. "Sam?" He tried again. "Are you in dere?"

"_…yeah." _Was the soft answer. "_Dieu, pourquoi m'est-il arrivé ?" _Sam gasped. "_I speak French?"_

"Are you alright?" Kurt asked jumping up and peering over the stall door since he was almost certain Sam wouldn't be _using _the bathroom.

Sam glanced up and Kurt was more than a little shocked to see how red and puffy his eyes had become. _"Kurt…I…I'm just-" _He broke off with a sigh and cradled his head in his remaining hand. "_I just wanted for once…to not be like this. And I can't even attend one day of school without something happening."_

Kurt frowned a bit and carefully held the missing hand out to the newest student. Sam took it with a sniff. "It'll be alright, its just da first day. Da professor vill vork out all da kinks."

"_Kinks?" _Sam echoed. "_My hand fell off, Kurt."_

"Okay, so dere more dan kinks…" Kurt said rubbing his head awkwardly. "But I'm sure everything vill vork out."

Sam considered the boy peering down at him for a minute. "_You know you are very easy to talk to?"_

"It's da fur. Everybody digs da fur." Kurt said with a wide grin.

_"No, it's not the fur. But whatever it is…I'm glad. I know I'm not exactly nice to be around…" _Sam said slowly getting up and unlatching the door to the stall.

Kurt jumped down and landed silently as Sam exited the stall. "It's alright, you're under a lot of pressure." Kurt excused with a wave of his three-fingered hand. "And all dis is new to you and all."

Sam sighed and tucked his hand and stump of a wrist into his pocket. "_I just wish I knew what happened to make me like this…why I died so young, it's not normal, ya know?…I'll see you at the manor, Kurt." _Sam said before leaving the bathroom, leaving Kurt standing there with a thoughtful look on his face.


	10. Clues

**A/N: This NOTE IS IMPORTANT. BamfIsAwesome brought up a good point that Kurt's accent is difficult to read and really I don't particularly like trying to figure out how it's written anyway (it adds time to my writing of new chapters). So, if I don't like writing it and it only makes reading harder...why do it? You all know that Kurt is German and has an accent due to this. At least, you SHOULD. So from now on use your vivid imaginations that I'm sure you all have. ON WITH CHAPTER!**

* * *

"Kurt are you, like, sure this is a good idea?" Kitty asked as three teens snuck into the room that Sam occupied. He was currently in the medical room getting his hand sewn back onto his wrist so they were guaranteed a while before he would be coming back.

"Aren't you curious, Kitty?" Kurt asked looking around the room for anything interesting.

"Well, yeah, sure, but what if Sam catches us?" Kitty asked hands on her hips.

Kurt shrugged. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"He could go ballistic." Rogue supplied. "What are you even lookin' for?"

"I don't know!" Kurt said throwing his hands up. He was beginning to doubt the wisdom of asking Rogue and Kitty to help him search for clues about Sam's past. If only Evan were here, but he wasn't due back for another two days. Normally, he'd have just waited for his partner in crime to get back but with Sam being kept busy he had wanted to take his chance. "But there's got to be something in here."

"Why are you even, like, looking for clues anyway?" Kitty asked opening a drawer and looking into the drawer of bland clothes. "Ugh, he's got, like, no taste."

"Sam said he wanted to know how he died." Kurt said glancing under the bed and spotting nothing. "It is our duty as his teammates to help him." Or at least, that was the line he gave himself to convince himself he wasn't just doing this for his own morbid and unrelenting curiosity.

Rogue rolled her eyes as she glanced under the mattress and found exactly three pennies. "Oh, good, I'm rich." She muttered holding the copper coins up.

"There's, like, nothing here Kurt." Kitty said closing the last of the drawers that held Sam's clothes.

Just as Kurt was about to give up, he spotted the music box sitting on the side table. "There's this." He said picking the box up carefully.

"Unuh! That's Sam's music box, you even touch it he'll kill you!" Rogue said waving her hands back and forth in warning. "I can hear him playing that thing all night long."

"Yeah," Kitty agreed. "He's, like, obsessed with it."

Kurt looked at the box thoughtfully as he turned it over in his hands. "I'm not going to break it." He argued. "He'll never even know." He turned the box over and examined it for a minute.

"What are you three doing?"

Kurt jumped, nearly dropping the music box but just barely holding onto the lid. The music filled the room as gravity opened the box in Kurt's hands. He looked over and glared at Scott. "Are you trying to make me drop it?" He demanded.

Scott frowned. "Why are you three even snooping around in Sam's room to begin with?"

"Kurt wants to figure out how Sam died." Rogue supplied, arms folded across her chest moodily. "An' o' course he dragged us into it."

"The professor told us not to bring that up." Scott said in his best authoritative voice.

"That's why we're not bringing it up." Kurt pointed out.

"Could you, like, close the music box already?" Kitty asked sounding a bit annoyed.

Kurt sighed. "Ja, Ja." He put the box back on the table and was just about to close the lid when he paused. "…what's this?" Everyone looked over and despite any intentions to not snoop came closer.

Scott frowned slightly as he looked over Kurt's shoulder. "It has a false lid?" He asked spotting the small pull-tab against the side of the lid.

"Talk about suspicious." Kitty said as Kurt pulled the tab and the fake lid fell open. Kitty picked up the pieces of paper that fell forward and read the first one out loud. "Sam Vance…and it looks like there was something else but that got, like, cut off…" She said pointing to the beginning of a letter after Vance.

"Let me see." Scott said reaching over to take the pieces of paper. He examined the scrap with Sam's name on it. "An…E? Maybe an L? Or B…"

"What do the others say?" Rogue asked curiously.

Scott pulled the biggest from the pile. "Search ended for local teen." He read.

"Do you think that's about Sam?" Kurt asked peering at the headline.

"Well, why else would he have it?" Scott asked back with a shrug. Scott pulled out the last piece of paper. "December 3…Well, that's…specific at least."

"Maybe that's, like, his birthday or something." Kitty suggested.

"Maybe…" Scott said thoughtfully before shaking his head. "What am I doing? Put these back and get out of here. We can't just invade our friend's privacy like this. It's not any of our business." He said handing the papers back to Kurt.

Kurt frowned but put the papers back in the false lid before closing the music box. The four mutants quickly and silently left the room, Scott firmly closing the door behind them. Scott sent them a firm look from behind his sunglasses and the three snoopers quickly dispersed before he could launch into a long lecture.

Kurt teleported down to the first place he thought of to go. The kitchen. Logan looked up at the signature _bamf _noise but turned his attention back to the conversation happening at the table.

"_It's no use, Professor. The nerves are severed and there's simply no way I can use this hand anymore." _Sam said holding up the limp appendage in question.

Xavier sighed a bit. "I see your point. But finding a new body for you would be…difficult at best."

Sam sighed, rubbing his forehead with his non-limp hand. "_This is so frustrating…" _He muttered. After a minute he looked up. "_I can stay in this body just fine, but I'm right handed and I've effectively lost my right hand."_

"A cast would make it look like Ghosty couldn't use his right hand." Logan suggested. Speaking up for the first time since the conversation had begun.

"That's true." Xavier agreed. "Sam, would you consent to that for now?"

Sam sighed but nodded. "_For now. But Professor, eventually I'll need to change bodies." _He pointed out a tinge of annoyance seeping into his whispery voice. "_I can't exist without some physical body to inhabit and if you won't allow me to change when I need to I honestly can't see why you brought me here." _He added before abruptly getting up and leaving the kitchen.

Kurt let out a low whistle. Sam had been more annoyed than he'd thought. He'd never just gotten up and _left _before. Especially not in the middle of something. "Man, he's not happy…"

"He's frustrated." Xavier said with a sigh. "I didn't anticipate Sam's mutation to have so many unpleasant side affects."

"I think there's somethin' more to it than that, Chuck." Logan said looking after the teenager. "He barely said ten whole sentences to me on the way here and now he's practically on a rampage."

Kurt scratched his head thoughtfully. "I don't know…he seemed pretty depressed earlier…"

"Depressed?" Xavier prompted.

"Ja, I think he might have even been crying." Kurt informed. A voice in the back of his head suddenly piped up, saying that Sam probably didn't want anyone knowing about that little episode in the bathroom. _Oops, oh no…well…it's too late now… _He thought seeing the concerned look on the Professor's face. He could only hope that Sam wouldn't find out he told the Professor.


	11. Ranting

Sam hadn't said a word to anybody all day, despite the fact that they were in the middle of a Danger Room session. They crouched down behind a pile of rubble as red beams of light blasted overhead. "We need to stop those laser blasts." Jean said taking a quick glance out before ducking another beam of red light. So far the lasers were the only things in the way of them completing this training exercise.

"Kitty, phase through and take out the left side. I'll get the ones on the right." Scott said. Kitty nodded and fell into the ground as Scott whipped out from behind their cover, hand to his visor.

As soon as Scott got a shot at the laser's power source he blasted off a red beam of his own. The explosion told the others that he'd made a successful hit. "Let's go!" He ordered jumping out as the other laser turret shorted out and Kitty jumped out of the machine.

They ran towards the finish line and as Rouge finally crossed it lights flashed green. Sam crossed his arms over his chest and glanced around, as the rocky terrain seemed to melt away to the image of a room filled with deadly weapons and moving parts. Many of the walls and destroyed weapons flipped back into the walls or floors as the room powered down. It looked distinctly less impressive now that the weapons were gone. "You did good for your first session, Sam." Jean said as the others cheered their victory over the Danger Room.

"_I didn't DO anything." _Sam pointed out blandly.

"That's not true. Rogue would have fallen into that crevice if you hadn't pulled her back." Jean pointed out.

"Yeah, thanks for that." Rogue said. Sam frowned and looked away, unable to find something to say to that. Really, he had felt entirely too useless during that exercise. His power was passive and -like he told the professor- he didn't like taking over living people. Add to that his utter lack of any physical abilities his performance had been lackluster at best.

Slowly, they made their way to the locker rooms. Sam waited for everybody to go first before changing. Being a boy in a girl's body he was never quite sure which locker room he was supposed to use. He felt awkward either way so he'd decided to just go last.

It was a good fifteen minutes before he exited the elevator, changed back into his normal clothes. He had taken to wearing his cloak again, though he had forgone the hood unless he felt the need to completely hide. Suddenly, Sam heard a loud German shout from down the hall. "Evan! You're back!"

It didn't take long for chattering to filter up from the main hall of the mansion. Sam hesitated outside of his room before walking towards the commotion. Unsure of how involved he wanted to be in it, Sam hovered on the second floor landing as he took in the scene below him.

A black boy with blonde hair and wearing the signature black leather suit of the X-men was in the middle of the other teens. Just behind them a tall black woman with long white hair (Sam noted it looked far healthier than his) was chatting with Xavier. Neither group seemed to notice Sam leaning against the banister. They were too involved with greeting their friends.

Sam felt a pang of jealousy and anger go through him. His friends had never even noticed when he'd suddenly died. Had they even cared? Sam scowled darkly at the group of them. Why didn't _his_ friends miss him like that? This Evan hadn't even been gone that long from what Sam understood. Sam _died _and got missed less. How was that fair?

The professor suddenly looked up and saw Sam standing there. ~Sam?~ Sam sent one last glare below him before turning back towards his room. He didn't feel like being psychoanalyzed right now. He just wanted to be angry.

He closed the door firmly behind him and started restlessly pacing the length of it. What could he have possibly done to make it unimportant whether he lived or died? He couldn't think of anything. He felt incredibly betrayed. Nobody had cared. Nobody was missing him and it wasn't fair!

There was a knock at the door and Sam glanced that way before going back to pacing. "Sam, what's the matter?" Xavier asked through the door.

"_Go away." _He hissed without thinking about it.

Despite Sam's foul temper, the door opened and Xavier wheeled his chair in. "I'm sure your friends care that you died, Sam." He said as he rested his chin on his folded hands.

"_How would you know? Because you read my mind?" _Sam demanded, whipping around to glare at the older mutant. "_Well, I've been in my mind Professor! That's not exactly the best source of information. You'd have better luck googling-what the hell is a google anyway?"_

The professor's eyebrow shot up at the sudden change of topic. "I have no idea." He answered carefully.

"_See, you don't know everything!" _Sam said as he resumed his pacing. "_I mean; nobody knows _everything. _It's just not possible. There's far too much to know and it would take hundreds of hours of studying to even come anywhere near learning fully about one topic. Could you imagine the time it would take to learn about everything? You should tell that to Kurt by the way, he needs to spend more time studying. I swear; I'm surprised he hasn't failed his computer lab. He barely knows how to do anything."_

The professor was completely shocked at the sudden tangent. "Could you speak a little slower?" He asked as Sam continued on talking, barely even paying attention to the professor anymore. They weren't even talking about the reason Sam was so agitated anymore but the teen was still clearly upset.

Sam waved the professor's request of a slower pace aside as he continued talking. "_Kitty tries to cut corners too much. Though I suppose since she can walk _through _corners it's only natural for her." _

Xavier frowned and slipped into Sam's mind. It was a chaotic whirlwind of ideas. Everything passed by at an alarming rate. Xavier barely realized that the topics that Sam was ranting about were passing by at a slightly slower (but still too fast) pace. The original idea of his friends having not cared had long ago been swept away in the current. Xavier wouldn't be surprised if he didn't even remember it anymore with how many other thoughts kept racing past.

Sam didn't notice Xavier's mental prodding as he continued to pace and talk faster than the professor had ever heard. It was like listening to Kitty when she was excited about something. Xavier dug a little deeper into Sam's mind, trying to find a reason for such odd behavior.

Sam's memories were passing by just as rapidly as his thoughts, only his memories were horribly fragmented and hazed over. A bottle briefly appeared in Sam's mind and the professor was just able to read Valium before it disappeared into the maelstrom. Valium would definitely be helpful to calm Sam down; it was one of the more powerful sedatives on the market.

But why on earth would Sam have memories of Valium? They passed by too quickly for Xavier to fully explore. Another bottle shot past, different from the Valium. Xavier focused in on it and read the title of Lamotrigine before the words shifter to say Thorazine. The bottle shot away and Xavier tried to follow it. When the professor caught up to it, it was another medication, this one saying Lithium. It quickly shattered in front of him and Sam screamed, jerking Xavier out of his confused mind.

Xavier blinked the room back into focus and saw Sam huddled on the floor, his cloak hiding him completely from view. "Sam-"

"_Go away." _The teen's voice was even softer and more strained than normal.

Xavier did the opposite, coming closer to the black mass on the ground. "Why didn't you say something?"

"_About what?"_

"That you have Bipolar Disorder?" Xavier clarified. It was the only condition that had all four of the medications he'd seen in Sam's mind in common. "I could have helped you if you'd told me."

Sam was quiet for several minutes. "_I…I didn't…" _He sighed and shrugged instead. "_Don't you think…I have enough problems already?"_

"Denying it only makes the problem worse." Xavier said putting a hand on Sam's shoulder. "But now that we know we can do something about it. Just promise me you won't hide anything like this again."

_"I…I'll try not to…"_


	12. Forge's Ideas

Silence…Serenity…Calming nothingness…Kitty screaming at the top of her lungs- Sam's eyes snapped open and glared at the door to his room. How on earth was he supposed to keep his scattered emotions in any semblance of order if she kept yelling all the time? What was she even yelling about this time? Something about being late or something…

Sam sighed and closed his eyes again. Meditation was the closest thing to sleep he had and he had come to greatly enjoy the time to let his thoughts settle, which they were having trouble doing lately. Slowly he slipped back into his meditation, letting waves of black nothingness surround him.

_BAMF!_

Sam jerked to the side in surprise as Kurt landed on his bed. "_Kurt! Dieu, why did you do that?" _He asked sitting up and resting his arms on the edge of the bed.

Kurt grinned widely, showing his fang-like canines. "You've gotta come, quick! We have a surprise for you!"

Sam just stared at the blue teleporter blankly. "_A surprise…" _He echoed with almost as little enthusiasm as he was showing on his face. "_What kind of surprise? I'm not going to have to sew a limb back on again, am I?"_

"That was one time!" Kurt said sounding mildly offended. "I told you I was sorry about that. Just come on!" He said grabbing hold of Sam's shoulder before teleporting out of the room.

Sam felt the rather uncomfortable sensation of being squished before the world returned to normal with the signature _bamf. _Sam tossed a half-hearted glare at Kurt before getting to his feet and looking at the crowd that had gathered in the Danger Room. "_…I'll bite…what's going on?"_

"Sam, I'd like you to meet Forge." The professor said gesturing to the teenager with shoulder length wavy black hair and tanned skin. "We've been discussing your powers and he thinks that there might be something we can do to help you if you'll consent to a few tests to see how your powers work, of course."

"_Tests…naturally…" _Sam muttered glancing over at a table filled with strange machines that Sam wasn't even going to attempt to name. "_What a lovely surprise…yes, Kurt, this was worth scaring the undead-daylights out of me…" _He said sarcastically.

The other teens gave him a carefully measure look and Sam sighed in annoyance. He knew that they were wondering: if he was going off the deep end. Ever since the professor had said the word Bipolar it was as if they were never quite sure how to handle him. "_Trust me, you'll know when I've gone manic." _He said dryly. "_It's rather unforgettable." _Despite the fact that he _had _forgotten on occasion, but he chalked that up to his amnesia.

"How about we get back to the tests you want to do, Forge?" Storm asked effectively breaking the tension that had been building up. She really was good with people. Much better than Logan, that's for sure.

"Right!" Forge said instantly slipping into theorist mode. "There's a few different ways that your powers _could _work. But what I think is most likely is that you are utilizing a more advanced form of mind control. If that's the case then it may be possible to keep your 'soul' contained to something that would last longer than the…er…bodies you have been using." He said scratching his temple awkwardly at the last part of his explanation.

"You mean like…a cyborg? Awesome!" Evan said enthusiastically.

Sam frowned slightly. He still felt…angry around Evan, though he couldn't quite place why. But to his credit, Evan either didn't let it bother him or (less to his credit) didn't notice the waves of ice that Sam was giving off. But to Sam's annoyance Kurt seemed to agree with Evan. "Dude, it'd be perfect! You wouldn't have to worry about falling apart in school anymore!"

Sam scoffed slightly, "_I can't possesses inanimate objects." _He stated.

"You've tried?" Scott asked sounding shocked.

"…_I'm not the bloody Amityville Toaster." _Sam said instead of answering the question directly.

Kurt's eyes lit up at that. "You tried to possess a toaster?"

Sam folded his arms over his chest. "_Can we move on?"_

"You did try!" Evan stated with wide eyes.

"Why would you try to possess a toaster?" Kitty asked with a confused look.

"_Because it was there and I thought it'd be funny! Now can we move on?" _Sam demanded impatiently.

Evan smiled and slung an arm around Kurt's shoulder. "Here that 'crawler? He 'thought it'd be funny'. And here I was thinking that he didn't have a sense of humor."

Sam opened his mouth to reply but Forge cut him off. "Well, that's still a long way off yet. We still have to figure out exactly how your power works if we're going to do anything to help."

"And we are trying to help, Sam." The professor said. Sam's eyes instantly fell on the chair-bound mutant. There was just something about him that _made_ you look at him when he was speaking. "These tests may be tedious but they help us to understand mutations as…extreme as your own."

Sam looked unconvinced. "_So you've all had to do all these tests?" _He asked.

"Well, the tests are sort of personalized, ya know?" Jean said stepping forward. "I wouldn't have to have the same tests someone like Evan or Kurt would. Our powers are different so the tests have to be too."

"Think of it like…personalized training." Scott added.

Sam sighed and rolled his head on his neck as he considered. "_Fine." _He said after a minute. "_What do you want me to do?" _

"We need to see what happens when you take over a new body." Forge said moving over to his table of gadgets. "So we just need you to take over one of us so that we can see what sort of changes occur."

If Sam hadn't already been ghostly pale that sentence would have made him so. "_Absolutely not." _He said instantly. He turned to the professor with a glint of anger in his yellow eyes. "_I told you I don't DO that."_

Xavier sighed and rubbed his forehead "Sam, it's important. We wouldn't ask you if it wasn't. That's why we've brought everybody in here, if something goes wrong we can handle the situation."

Sam scowled darkly at him. "No." He stated firmly. For the first time that any of them had heard his voice came out normal. No whisper, no scratchy quality, just pure flat out 'No'. Sam however didn't seem to notice the sudden voice change and turned on heel and walked out of the Danger Room.

"I was afraid of this…" Xavier said with another sigh. "He simply refuses to use his powers if he can help it."

"Is he afraid?" Storm asked thoughtfully.

Xavier nodded. "But I doubt that's the only reason. Something is holding him back, keeping him from advancing with his abilities."

"Well, we can't do much if I don't know how his power works…" Forge said scratching his head in thought. "I guess I could still make a few prototypes based on theories though…"

"Logan, would you be good enough to try and talk to Sam?" Xavier asked turning to the so-far quiet mutant leaning against the wall. "You were the first one he met, there's a chance he'd be more open with you."

Logan raised an eyebrow. "Chuck, the kid barely said anything to me."

Xavier looked amused. "As I recall, you didn't make much effort to get him to talk either."

Logan frowned but couldn't exactly deny it. ~What is the harm in trying, Logan?~ Xavier asked him mentally. Logan sighed and pushed off from the wall. "I'll try, but I'm tellin' ya it's a waste of time…Ghosty's more likely to talk to the Elf than me."

"We'll see." Xavier said as Kurt stuck his tongue out at Logan's retreating back.

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**Have you ever got the feeling that the Professor knows something you don't know? Tune in next time for major Sam ANGST!!! This episode brought to you by the letter D and the number 6. **

**Oh! And thanks to rawr for all the questions they make me happy that people are actually thinking about things like that. Unfortunately, I can't answer them because they are plot points but I promise they will be answered eventually.**


	13. Sam's Guilt

**Wow...I seriously spazzed out during the end of the last chapter...I thought I had edited out the Kurt tongue thing...guess I forgot...OH WELL! I'll have to do better at proof reading from now on... On to the ANGST FEST!!!!!.......... Exclamation Point.**

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Sam was nothing if not consistent. Logan found his curled up in the corner of his room with his cloak hiding his face and music box playing from its spot on the floor next to him. Logan scratched his cheek as he sat on the edge of Sam's bed. How exactly was he supposed to talk to this kid? 'I think Charles is overestimating me here…' He thought as he tried to think of something to say.

Luckily Sam seemed to take it upon himself. "_He sent you to bring me back, I guess?"_

"We aint gonna force you to do something you don't want to do, Kid." From the slight movement of his hood, Logan figured that Sam had turned to look at him. "But we can't help you if we don't know anything."

Sam pulled the music box closer to himself and didn't reply. For several minutes only the slow –by now familiar- melody of Sam's music box filled the air. Logan frowned and searched for a subtle way to ask Sam why he refused to cooperate. After a minute, Logan gave up trying to be subtle. "Why'd you freak out, Ghosty?" He asked.

Sam didn't reply; he just ran his fingers over the rim of the music box's lid. Logan sighed and got to his feet. He _told _Chuck this wouldn't work. "_It was snowing…" _Sam said suddenly.

"Snowing?" The older mutant echoed in confusion.

Sam nodded under his hood, eyes fixed on the moving gears of the music box. "_I remember how cold it was…first snow of the year." _Slowly Logan sat back down, curious about Sam's sudden urge to share. "_Have you ever killed someone, Monsieur Logan?" _Sam asked suddenly looking up.

Logan was a bit startled at the question but nodded 'yes' anyway. He caught a flash of gold from Sam's eyes before the teen lowered his head. The music box stopped playing, leaving the room in utter silence. It was like everything was hinging on that last question.

Sam carefully wound the music box. "_So've I…"_

The music came back strong but Logan still heard the sniff from under Sam's hood. "So…that's why you won't use your powers?" Sam nodded briefly. "Kid, hiding in your room aint gonna change the past."

"_…I know that." _Sam muttered. "_But what if it happens again? What if I try to take someone over and I kill them too?!" _Sam demanded suddenly. "_I don't want to hurt any of you…"_

Logan scoffed. "Don't worry about us, Ghosty. We can handle ourselves."

Sam was quiet for several minutes, tracing nonsensical designs on the wood of his music box. "_I watched him die, Logan…I killed him with this damn__é power." _Sam rubbed his eyes on the back of his sleeve. "_…He was my best friend…and I murdered him…"_

Logan shook his head. "No, ya didn't. It was an accident. If ya murdered him ya wouldn't be beating yourself up about it now."

"_It's still my fault. He didn't deserve to die. He did nothing wrong. It wasn't fair! He should still be alive going on dates and sleeping in classes like a normal teenager!" _Sam snapped.

"We talkin' about your friend…or you?" Logan asked curiously.

Sam paused but quickly scowled at the man sitting on his bed. Logan could feel the heat from his glare, despite the fact that he couldn't see it. "_I won't do it again." _He said firmly.

"So, you're just gonna wait for another accident to happen?" Logan asked getting to his feet.

Sam looked down at the music box that had once again winded down and grown silent. "_What else can I do? How many people have to die because I can't?" _He asked softly.

"How'd this friend of yours die anyway?" Logan asked thoughtfully.

"_I was trying to get his attention…but…somehow I took over. We were fighting for control…" _Sam reached around and grabbed the golden key to the music box.

Logan sighed with annoyance before grabbing Sam's wrist to stop him. "What happened, Sam?" He asked gruffly.

Sam trembled slightly and looked away from Logan. "_H-he…he was driving…but the snow…and f-fighting with me…the car…i-it…" _Sam broke off and tugged his wrist in an effort to get free.

Logan sighed and released Sam's wrist. Sam scurried backwards and buried his face in his arms. Logan got to his feet, figuring that Sam wouldn't be sharing anymore today. As he made his way to the door he heard the music box being wound. "Hey kid." The winding behind Logan stopped. "None of us'll be driving cars in the danger room." He pointed out before leaving the room.

Sam closed his eyes as the music filled the room again. Memories of fire and twisted metal intruded behind his eyelids and he quickly opened them again. A dry sob broke past his lips but he quickly stifled it with his hand. The way those familiar blue eyes went dim haunted him as he tried to steer his memories away from the crash.

The screaming of ambulance sirens and the sickly gush of blood as it spilled across the white snow filled his ears even above the music that Sam was trying to drown himself in. Sam trembled again as his best friend's lifeless face stared at him accusingly. "_Eli…I…I'm so sorry…" _He whispered as he wrapped his cloak tighter around himself.

He couldn't go through that again. He couldn't be the cause of his friend's death. Just thinking that any one of the people in the mansion could replace Eli's face in his mind was terrifying. Kurt, Rouge, Jean, even Scott and Kitty. He couldn't risk something like that happening again. Happening to them.

Sam closed his eyes as hot tears rolled down his face. Maybe coming here was a mistake after all. Meeting people, making friends…they were all at risk now because of him. Because he couldn't control his powers.

~Then maybe it's time to learn how to control them.~ The professor suggested softly.

Sam muttered a few choice curses in both French and English, how did the professor do that? "_What if someone get's hurt?" _He asked the empty room. "_What if I kill someone else?"_

~You won't.~

"_You can't know that!"_

~Sam, you've trusted us so far…just trust us a little more. What happened to your friend will not happen to us. We will take every precaution possible to make sure nobody gets injured.~ Xavier assured. Sam was silent as he considered. ~Logan was right you know.~

Sam lifted his head slightly. "_About what?"_

~It was an accident. And it wasn't your fault.~

"_It still feels like it is. If I hadn't tried to get his attention…he wouldn't have crashed. He wouldn't be dead now…"_


	14. Codenames

"You know what you need?" Evan said suddenly. It had been two days since the incident in the Danger Room and Sam had just ventured into the living room where the other student's were watching television.

Sam blinked a bit in surprise. "_What?"_

Evan twisted in his seat to look over the back of the couch at him. "You need a codename, dude."

"_A codename." _Sam echoed.

"Yeah!" Kurt said jumping up to perch on the armrest of the couch. "Everyone has one…well…besides Jean, I guess."

Sam glanced around the room but nobody seemed to be paying the three of them any attention. Jean wasn't in the room -having taken to studying in a more quiet section of the house, Scott and Kitty were still watching the news, and Rogue was reading a book in a nearby armchair. It didn't look like the undead teen would be getting any help from them. "_And why do I need a codename?"_

"Because, you're part of the team." Kurt said gesturing around wildly with his arms.

"_But you just said Jean doesn't have one." _Sam argued.

Evan waved his point away like a pesky fly. "Yeah but that's Jean. She's like that. But with your power, we could get some pretty cool names. Right, Kurt?"

"Ja." Kurt agreed instantly. "Like, uh, how about Voodoo?"

Evan made a face. "Nah, not the right country for that. Oh! Zombie!"

Sam flinched. "_Don't ever call me that."_

"Living Dead Girl." Rogue piped up without looking up from her book. There were several minutes of silence and Rogue finally looked up to see three curious stares directed at her. She shrugged. "It's a song."

"You need better music…" Kurt muttered.

Rogue rolled her eyes and went back to her book. "Fine, see if I help you again."

Evan put a hand to his chin in thought. "Maybe if we cut out the Girl…" He mused, looking up at the ceiling.

"_Just stop would you?" _Sam asked reaching back to pull his hood up to hide his face. A clear sign that he was uncomfortable with the current topic. "_I don't even see why I need a codename…"_

"It's tradition!" Evan said as he nearly threw himself over the back of the couch. "You can't just go and break tradition."

Sam frowned and moved to sit down in the armchair on the other side of the room. But it didn't seem to deter Kurt and Evan as they continued to discuss Sam's 'codename' even without Sam being involved. "How about Phantom?" Kurt asked thoughtfully.

"Don't they have a comic character named that?" Evan asked scratching his head in thought. "I guess we can't use Ghost since Logan uses that…"

Sam tried to ignore the pair of them and focus on the boring news reports on the television but it proved to be more than mildly difficult. "Maybe we could ask Jean. She might have some smart names we could use."

"Ours are smart."

"I meant book smart, dude. Ya know, old stuff nobody thinks about anymore."

"Oh. Like…Latin or something?"

Sam finally had enough and got to his feet. "_Drop it!" _He snapped before leaving the room. He didn't stop until he was in his room. He forced air into his otherwise still lungs and then exhaled slowly. Why were they even bothering, anyway?

Sam collapsed onto his bed and rolled over to face the ceiling. This 'codename' business was just silly. Why couldn't they just call him by his name? It was only three letters. Not like it was particularly hard to remember.

There was a loud _bamf _from the balcony and Kurt knocked on the glass pane. Sam frowned but gestured that the blue mutant could come in. "What's wrong?" Kurt asked jumping to perch on an empty space of Sam's bed.

"_This may come as a shock, Kurt, but being reminded that I'm dead is not the most pleasant of things." _Sam said casting Kurt a short glance.

"We weren't trying to make you feel bad." Kurt said with a concerned look on his face. He really hadn't considered that his and Evan's idea would upset Sam, but then, he could see the other teen's point. There were plenty of things _he _wouldn't want to be reminded of either. "We just thought you'd like a name like the rest of us."

"_Why?" _Sam asked propping himself up on his elbow.

"Because you're always alone all the time. We thought you might…be around more if you had a codename too." Kurt explained awkwardly. It wasn't exactly the easiest thing to explain. "We didn't want you to be left out." He added after a minute.

Sam frowned as he pondered over Kurt's explanation. "_You…didn't want me left out?" _He repeated uncertainly.

"Ja, I mean…you don't like leaving the mansion…you don't like Danger Room sessions." Sam snorted a bit. Who liked Danger Room sessions? Other than Logan and occasionally Scott that is. "You just…never do anything."

Sam lay back down and held up his right hand, examining the line of stitches that held it to his arm. "_I think…I've forgotten how to do things…" _He said after a minute. "_I have been…existing…for so long, without needing anything else…It's so hard, ya know? To walk into a room and feel…normal."_

"Ja…" Kurt whispered. "I know." Sam let his arm drop and turned his golden gaze to the ceiling. A companionable silence seeped into the room. Suddenly Kurt brightened, "But that's why we're here! So we don't have to feel like that anymore!"

Sam looked over at Kurt and slowly smiled. "_Nothing keeps you down for long does it?" _

Kurt beamed and jumped off the bed. "Nien!"

"_Kurt?" _

Kurt paused halfway to the door and turned back around to see Sam sitting facing the opposite direction. "Ja?"

"_You know Forge really well, don't you?"_

"Ja, I was the first other mutant he ever met." Kurt said recalling his trip to Middleverse.

Sam was quiet for a minute. "_Do you really think…his tests could help me?"_

Kurt smiled brightly, despite the fact Sam wasn't looking at him. "Sure! He's a genius after all! I'll see ya later, Sam." He said before leaving the room and a thoughtful Sam sitting on the bed.


	15. Power

**I've been so excited to write this chapter you have NO idea. The first true display of Sam's power. Gah! I'm nearly jumping with excitement. Oh, and I've been thinking of adding in a romance interest for Sam but don't really know who...any suggestions? I might end up making an OC for him but I kinda wanted to limit the number of OC's... (Oh and I can work either boy or girl couplings so throw 'em all at me)**

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"Are you sure about this?" The professor asked.

"_No." _Sam admitted as he shifted his weight back and forth. "_…but I have to do this. _Because_ I don't want to do it."_

Xavier nodded in understanding. Everyone had to face his or her fears eventually and Sam had apparently chosen to do so while he had his chance. Sam had come to Xavier's office early that morning and said he'd agree to the tests if Xavier promised that he could stop if he wanted to.

Now, they were standing inside the Danger Room, waiting for Forge to set up his equipment. "I was thinking, Sam…" Xavier began. "That perhaps it would be safest to try the first test on Logan."

Sam look startled. "_Logan?"_

"Yes, his healing abilities should ensure that there is no way anyone can get hurt. I had hoped that would make you feel more confident about using your powers." Xavier explained.

"_I-I see…" _Sam said reaching to the back of his neck where his hood usually was. But since he was wearing his training suit –one of the basic, non-personalized suits- the hood was missing and he made due with rubbing the back of his neck. "_Well, if Monsieur Logan agrees…"_

Logan grunted from where he was standing off to the side. "Doesn't matter to me, Ghosty."

"I'm almost ready." Forge said coming over to where they were standing. He held out a pair of white sensor pads. "You just gotta put these on so we can see what happens when you leave a body." He said to Sam.

Sam took them looking unsure. "_I have to wear them?"_

"Just put one on each temple. But don't worry, Logan has to wear them too." He said before holding two out to Logan. Logan scowled darkly but took the two receptors from Forge. "Now, give me a minute to set up the scanner…"

The professor went to go help Forge and Sam shifted his weight again, wishing to suddenly develop the power to disappear. "Relax, Kid. Nothin's gonna go wrong." He said gruffly.

Sam forced himself to stand still for all of three minutes before glancing at Logan. "_Thank you for doing this, Logan."_

"Don't worry about it." The older mutant replied.

Finally Forge straightened from behind his computer that the sensors were transmitting to. "Alright, Sam. Whenever you're ready."

Sam nodded and focused on the feeling of being bodiless. Intense golden light radiated from Sam's eyes. A moment later, the light exploded from his eyes in a stream and Sam's back arched backwards from the force of it. The golden light formed a strange, silhouetted form as Sam's body collapsed lifelessly to the ground, eyes milky white and glazed over.

The golden silhouette started fading immediately until the other mutants could only just see a thin outline of it. Sam hesitated as he hovered in midair. The leaving a body was the easy part. Now, he had to take over _Logan's_. If something happened… "Just come on already, kid." Logan said impatiently.

Sam steeled himself away and focused on Logan. After a minute, his 'body' –which was only really tangible to him- seemed to leap forward. All the others saw was the stream of suddenly blazing gold light funnel through Logan's eyes. Logan took a step back and instinctively snarled. The light burned a bit as it went through his eyes, sending tiny flames searing up his nerves to his brain.

Logan clutched his head in pain as the last of the light that was Sam disappeared into his eye sockets. Logan shook his head; it felt crowded. Too crowded. A lightening storm seemed to take up residence in his skull as strange thoughts and emotions intruded. Loneliness, pain, confusion, and _fear_. "They left!" He snarled. "-trusted him!" His claws shot out of his knuckles instinctively.

~Please, Logan! Don't fight!~ Sam's voice pleaded with more than a bit of fear.

It was a swirling vortex building in his mind. He fought against the current of gold as it reached for the outer edges of his mind. Logan snarled again as more errant thoughts bubbled to the surface. Railroad. "Stupid, merde…car!"

~Logan please!~

The utter terror in Sam's voice shook Logan back to remember what was currently going on. He had _agreed _to let Sam take over. With a great deal of effort, he forced himself to go with the swirling vortex of gold in the middle of his mind instead of fighting it.

Almost instantly, he was swept completely under and seemed to be watching through a gold tint with detached semi-interest. Logan's body slumped –somehow having ended up on his knees during the fight- and the adamantium claws retreated. "Sam?" The professor asked unsure.

The mutant slowly looked up and Xavier saw two molten gold eyes staring back at him. "_I'm here."_

"Far out…" Forge breathed.

"_Can we hurry this along? I don't know how long I can keep control." _Sam said. His voice was Logan's and yet not. That strange, raspy, whisper-like quality seemed to blanket Logan's usual baritone.

"Logan was saying some…odd things while you were taking over, Sam. Do you have any idea what they were about?" The professor asked as Forge's fingers flew across his keyboard.

Sam shook his head. "_…I didn't even notice he was saying anything." _Suddenly he winced, as a stray thought from Logan seemed to bash against the inside of his skull. Or would it be Logan's skull? Their skull? Sam pushed the thought aside before it gave him a headache. "_It's very draining trying to keep control." _He muttered looking down at the large rough hands he now controlled. "_This is so strange…"_

"Yes, it's rather odd for us as well." Xavier commented with a smile.

"_I haven't been in such an older body before…"_

"I aint old!" Logan's eyes flashed to their normal dark blue color before returning to Sam's green-tinged gold.

"_Sorry." _Sam looked over at the professor as he scratched an annoying itch on his…Logan's…whoever's shoulder. "_This is getting even more disturbing." _He stated. Suddenly, four adamantium blades shot out of the hand on his shoulder and Sam jumped in surprise. He gingerly moved his hand away from his body. "_How does he control these things, anyway?"_

"I believe it has something to do with muscle control." Xavier supplied with an increasing smile.

"Okay, you can leave now." Forge said looking up from his screen.

Sam nodded and instantly shot out of Logan's eyes as a stream of gold. Logan fell backwards with a thud and a grunt. The golden light didn't even start to fade before channeling into Sam's current body. Sam slowly pushed himself up and shook his head. "_Monsieur Logan? Are you alright?" _He asked looking over at the unmoving Logan worriedly.

"He seems fine." Forge said kneeling next to the other mutant. "The strain probably just knocked him out. I don't see any injuries."

Sam frowned a bit. Of course he didn't see injuries. It _was _Logan after all. Suddenly the intercom crackled to life. "Professor?" Storm's voice filled the room.

"Yes, Storm?" Xavier replied looking up at the glass walled room near the ceiling of the room. "Is something wrong?"

"The school called. Apparently there's been some sort of incident." She answered.

Xavier sighed. "I see. I'll be right there." Storm nodded and retreated from the window, probably to get the car ready for a trip to Bayville High. Xavier turned to Sam with a smile. "That went very well, Sam. A few more tests like that and I'm sure we'll have your powers figured out in no time at all." Sam nodded absently as he rubbed his knuckles, almost as if assuring himself that metal blades wouldn't suddenly shoot out of them.


	16. The Incident

**Sorry, this one's a bit short and...well cliff-hangy but there is a reason for it. Hopefully the next chapter will make up for the lack of length of this one. It will if it works out like I have in my head...**

* * *

When they arrived at Bayville High Sam's jaw dropped open. The 'incident' wasn't too hard to see. The gym was leaning a bit unsteadily to the right with a large hole in the side and bright yellow police tape was keeping the crowd away from it. "_What happened here?" _Sam wondered aloud.

"Avalanche." Scott said as he and the rest of the teens hurried over to where they were all standing.

"_Avalanche?" _Sam echoed in confusion. There didn't look to be any gigantic snow piles around. They weren't even in the mountains for heaven's sakes.

"Also known as Lance Alvers." Jean supplied.

"_Oh…I guess everyone DOES have a codename…" _Sam muttered.

Xavier turned to Scott "What happened Scott?"

Scott sighed and rubbed the back of his head but before he could answer Evan jumped forward. "Alvers was pickin' a fight with Scott. Dude was just defending himself. Kicked Alvers butt too-" He flinched slightly at the look Storm sent him. "Sorry, Auntie O."

As the professor began his well-rehearsed lecture on when and where you should and shouldn't use your powers, Sam glanced around uneasily. At first he was certain nobody was paying them any attention, but then he spotted a group of four standing beneath a large oak tree and glaring at their group.

Well that wasn't entirely accurate. The large one with the blonde Mohawk wasn't glaring at them, he was devouring a sub. And the slightly green tinged one wasn't standing; he was crouching near the ground. But the slender one with slicked back white hair and the rough one with brown hair were standing and glaring.

"_Hey." _Sam called to the others, not bothering to take his eyes off the group of four. "_Would one of them be Alvers?" _He asked nodding to the group who only seemed to glare harder before starting for a run down jeep parked nearby.

"Ja, the one driving." Kurt answered as the brown haired teen started the jeep and three of them drove off. The white haired one gave a quick smirk before running, becoming a blur almost instantly.

Sam frowned and turned to Kurt who seemed to be the only one who had heard Sam call to them. "_And the cocky one?"_

"Quicksilver." He answered. "The big one's Blob and the other is Toad." He added before Sam could ask.

"_And they cause trouble a lot do they?" _Sam asked thoughtfully.

"Ja. They call themselves 'The Brotherhood'." Kurt answered.

Sam nodded absently and turned back to the rest of the group. Xavier looked to be just finishing up his lecture by the way Scott and several of the other's had their heads lowered. A sudden sense of déjà vu overtook him and he had to struggle not to laugh. Scott and the others suddenly looked about five when they did that.

"We will discuss this further at the manor." Xavier said. The teens winced slightly at the thought. Clearly they had hoped one lecture would be all that they'd get from this little incident. Storm held open the door to the limo as Xavier wheeled his way over to it. "Now, I suggest you all get back to your classes."

"Yes, Professor." Jean said instantly.

Xavier nodded. "Are you coming Sam?" He asked.

"_I think I'll walk, Professor." _Sam said. "_It's not like I'm in any hurry." _Besides, Sam was beginning to go stir-crazy with being at the institute all the time. There were only so many times one could wander through a building aimlessly before it got boring.

Xavier frowned a bit but agreed. "Just try to be back by dark."

"_Sure." _He agreed as he started walking in the general direction of the Institute.


	17. Just a Walk

Sam waited until the other students had gone into the school before starting to wander back towards the institute. Nobody seemed to pay him any mind as he strolled along. Nobody even looked twice.

Sam was reveling in his ability to wander around aimlessly, well, not so much aimlessly but at his own pace for certain. Normally he wouldn't have dared walk around town in the broad daylight. He could vaguely remember doing so when he was alive but like so many other things the memory was faded and distant, like it had happened ages ago.

His cloak flapped slightly in the gentle breeze, knocking his hair from his face. He hadn't bothered to pull the hood up seeing as the image inducer hid the stitches on his cheek and his strange colorations. For the first time in a long time he allowed himself to relax as he walked down the sidewalk. He half expected Eli to run up and jump on his back, knocking them both to the ground. Sam laughed a bit before remembering…Eli wouldn't ever do that again.

The teen's good mood sobered very quickly. He shook his head, half expecting something to shake loose and rattle inside his skull. He knew, intellectually, that his depression wasn't healthy and that what happened hadn't been his fault but his intellect rarely agreed with his emotions.

Sam wandered through a park, watching kids from the nearby middle school playing with shrieks of delight. He paused as he watched a brown haired girl in a bright sundress jump off of the swing at the top of its arc. She landed with a spray of sand and quickly ran to get in line for the slide. Something tugged at the back of Sam's mind but the moment he tried to figure out what it was it disappeared. "_Sam, you're loosing what little bit of sanity you still have." _He reprimanded lightly.

He watched the kids play for another several minutes with a bit of a smile before turning and continuing towards the institute. He was going to cut through the back way instead of following the road all the way there. He'd always enjoyed wandering around woods. There was a certain simple-ness there that eased his chaotic mind. He'd gotten the same feeling at the Cemetery. 'Maybe I'm just not cut out for being around people anymore.' He thought as he jumped up onto a fallen tree trunk.

He held his arms out for balance as he walked the length of the tree. He jumped down once he reached the end before dashing off in a sudden burst of speed. Sam jumped over a small stream and almost stumbled but was able to regain his footing and continue his dash.

Squirrels and birds scattered as he tore through the woods, each making their own scolding noises at the teen. He ignored the animals and threw himself over a large rock. The only problem was the ground fell away and Sam went rolling down a hill where he landed in a heap. "_Oh, genius move, Sam." _He muttered to himself as he got up.

Noticing his legs didn't feel even he looked down. His left knee was jerked to the side. Sam sighed and forced the knee back into place. This whole decaying thing was really getting old. Glancing at his watch, Sam noticed it was beginning to get late. He took off in another run; slightly slower and more in control this time.

Suddenly he noticed the tree cover getting less and less. He was coming to an open area. Sam frowned; he hadn't thought he was that close to the institute. And he certainly didn't run that fast or that far for that matter.

Pushing his way through a bush he froze at the rusted tracks before him. The plants were overgrowing them and most of the iron and wood had been removed ages ago but this tiny span of track remained. Sam took a stumble back, inexplicably terrified of the relic.

The teen tripped and landed hard, eyes still fixed with terror. If his heart still beat he had no doubt it would be pounding relentlessly. For the first time in years, he felt a very real pain filling him. Tears sprung to his eyes as he scrambled backwards. His back hit a tree trunk and he cried out in surprise and fear. He jumped up, clutching the throbbing pain in his chest.

Sam turned to face the tree, tears streaming down his cold face. He could swear he felt his heart pounding again. His ears were filled with the frantic thudding of his heartbeat as he made a mad dash into the woods and as far from the tracks as possible. Darkness crept up to his eyes and his vision narrowed until all he saw was directly in front of him.

Branches snagged his cloak and ripped his clothes as he ran almost blindly. Thorns and bramble scratched his skin but he hardly noticed. All he knew was he was terrified, utterly terrified.

He tightened his hold on his chest as he stumbled and fell splashing into a shallow river. He pushed himself up and continued to run. His only thought was to get away. He could hear someone following him; he knew he could. Someone was chasing him down and he had to get away.

Sam felt his ankle snag and hit the ground with a heavy slam. He twisted around and jerked his foot out of the tree root that had come from seemingly nowhere. He didn't notice the image inducer fall to the ground and shatter against a nearby rock as he dashed off in the next available direction.

The pain in his chest was moving, filling his head with almost agonizing intensity. He couldn't run anymore. His legs gave out and he collapsed a very real pain searing him like fire. He sobbed, his pained chest heaving with the force of them. He didn't feel dead at all, he felt like he was _dying_. He had felt this same wrenching pain then too.

There was a crunch nearby and Sam whipped around, eyes wide with terror. Had he found him? Please, please let him not have found him. If he found him-

Another crunch made Sam jerk his head around, trying to find the source yet fearing finding it at the same time. The teen slowly crept backwards, wincing as twigs snapped under his weight. His back pressed up against a boulder and Sam curled up near the base of it, trembling with fear. This wasn't supposed to happen.

His temples pulsed and he clutched his head, nearly pulling the white strands out of his scalp. Why did it hurt so much?! The pain was supposed to have stopped already! He barely bit back a whimper as the throbbing reached new levels. The blackness that had blinded him earlier seemed to encroach upon him again with terrifying speed. He was swamped with it.

Sam blindly fought to his feet. He couldn't handle this. Not alone. Not again. He had to get somewhere they'd help him. He tried to drag in a breath but his lungs wouldn't expand. Sam was able to stumble only a few steps before falling in a heap. His eyes glowed golden as another crunch filled the air and his fear spiked again. He couldn't think; he was too swamped with emotions he couldn't place and couldn't rationalize.

His body collapsed as his mind shutdown, trying to protect itself from the rampant thoughts and emotions. For the first time, Sam lapsed into something vaguely resembling sleep. A squirrel sprung across the ground and scurried up a nearby tree trunk, oblivious to the body a few feet away.

In the distance, the sun started to disappear under the horizon, painting the sky a blood red. The hours ticked by slowly and the air grew colder and darker and still Sam didn't regain consciousness. Suddenly, the sound of footsteps filled the deadly quiet forest.

A man wearing a large black coat eventually came across the clearing. Seeing Sam he hurried to the teen's side. "Hey, kid!" He called shaking his slightly. Not getting a response the man rolled Sam over. His eyes widened at the length of stitches down Sam's cheek. "My God…" He breathed in shock.

The man acted almost instantly, heaving Sam's limp form up into his arms he hurried back the way he had come. He couldn't just do nothing after all. As he made a slow path through the trees his mind reeled at his discovery.


	18. Not There

**A/N: _~~words~~ _are the voices in Logan's head...you'll see...

* * *

**

Logan ignored the way his throat burned as he gulped down scalding hot coffee -minus all that girly stuff like sugar and milk. He needed **pure** black _coffee_. He'd woken up in the infirmary about two hours ago and still he was feeling the after effects of Sam's power.

Everything was a bit hazy, including exactly what had happened in the Danger Room before he'd gone unconscious. Logan took another gulp of coffee before putting it on the counter and rubbing his temples. He didn't have a headache per say, but he was very much aware that his head was a bit…off. It was hard to place but it was getting better. He wasn't hearing that damn ringing in his ears anymore.

"Mr. Logan, are you okay? That's, like, your fifth cup of coffee…" Kitty observed.

Logan just sent Kitty a bland look and went back to his coffee. So what if he was drinking the whole pot of coffee? It was helping clear his head. The three teens playing cards at –or above in Kurt's case- the kitchen table exchanged a glance before looking back to their cards.

_~~Come on, Eloi, it's just a party…~~_

Logan looked around for the source of the strange woman's voice before grumbling to himself. Apparently the ringing in his ears had moved on to strange voices. Logan knew enough smattering of French-Canadian to know that Eloi was a French name. Well, Sam spoke French so a French name wasn't too shocking. He grunted a bit and drained the last bit of coffee from his mug.

_~~Eloi Pierce, don't you dare! I mean it!~~ _The woman's voice held a bit of humor as she gave the warning; joking around apparently.

Logan dropped his mug in the sink and shook his head a bit. Hopefully, he wouldn't be hearing things for long. He really wasn't in the mood for it. Sam could keep his broken up memories to himself. "Anyone seen Ghosty?" Logan asked, he might as well tell the kid to be more careful next time. Logan didn't particularly like the feeling of being crazy.

"Nein, haven't seen him." Kurt answered from his upside down hanging position on the light fixture.

"He should be in his room." Evan said jerking his thumb up to the ceiling. "Dude never comes out, ya know."

_~~Sammy!~~_

_~~Ugh, Eva…don't call me that…I hate that name. Call me 'Sam' like everyone else, would ya?~~_

Logan shook his head again. These voices were beginning to get on his nerves. But still, Sam had sounded…normal. No raspy whisper; just a bit of annoyance at the female voice -apparently someone called Eva. In a way it was almost creepier to hear how Sam's voice used to be. Logan was so used to the scratchy voice he almost took it for granted.

"Elf, go get Ghosty would ya?" Logan asked. "I need to talk to him."

Kurt smiled widely "Sure!" He dropped from the ceiling but burst into a cloud of sulfur before he hit the linoleum ground. A few minutes later, Kurt _bamf_-ed back into the kitchen with a frown. "He's not in his room."

"Maybe he's in the bathroom." Kitty suggested as she frowned down at her cards. She'd never played this game before and was beginning to regret asking to be taught how to play. At least she could have chosen Jean or someone else; she wasn't sure if she trusted Evan and Kurt's explanation of the rules…

"What would he be doing in the bathroom? The guy doesn't even eat." Evan pointed out.

"Yeah but he takes, like, four showers a day."

_~~You're such a nerd!~~_

"I didn't hear the shower going."

_~~You're just jealous because you're failing half your classes, Eli.~~_

"Maybe he's with the Professor then."

"Enough!" Logan snapped rubbing his temples. Hearing all those different voices going at once was enough to wear his already minimal patience down to practically nothing. "I'll just go find him myself." He added in a lower tone. Without bothering to look at the teenagers Logan turned and left the kitchen.

"What's got into him?" Kurt asked after a minute.

"He's been in a bad mood since we got back from school." Kitty said casually.

Evan nodded in agreement. "Just stay outta the way, dude."

It didn't take more than a few minutes to find out that Sam wasn't in any of the common areas of the Institute. A little while longer and Logan found he wasn't in the lower sections of the school either. The rough mutant was starting to get annoyed at not being able to locate the teenager but at least the voices were starting to fade. Finally becoming fed up with the search Logan decided he'd just get the Professor to tell him where Sam was.

The Professor was in his office with a stack of papers on his desk in front of him. He didn't look particularly surprised when Logan walked into his office. "Can I help you with something, Logan?"

"Yeah, find Ghosty for me will ya, Chuck? Can't find the kid anywhere." Logan said.

Xavier frowned a bit. "Really? He should have been back several hours ago." He muttered before closing his eyes. Xavier's frown deepened as he mentally scanned the Institute grounds. Finally he realized. Sam wasn't there.


	19. Gaylord

A white van pulled up to a small loading bay by a large building in the heart of downtown Bayville. The driver backed up as far as he could to the concrete stoop that a blue-painted metal door sat on. Once the van was in park, the driver jumped out and hurried to the short flight of stairs on the side of the concrete slab. He banged against the metal door with his fist and waited impatiently for an answer.

The small alleyway was lit with only a single yellow overhead lamp above the door. Only a few doors led out to the loading bay and mounds of trash and debris blocked all of them. It was not the nicest of neighborhoods.

Finally the blue door opened with surprisingly little noise from the rusted hinges. The man turned to face the one that stepped out of the building. The new man wore his black hair trimmed close and a neat beard with only a few strands of grey mixed in. His pale eyes were obscured slightly behind thick-rimmed glasses. "Christopher, what a surprise. What can I do for you?"

"I got something you might wanna take a look at." The driver, Christopher, said pointing to his van with his thumb.

The other man raised an eyebrow at the familiar truck. "Do you now? I thought I said I was plenty supplied for the moment."

"Ya did, but this one's strange lookin'." Christopher said pulling the twin doors of the van open. Inside the van there was a wall of stainless steel with several doors embedded in it. All of the doors had heavy handles and temperature gauges mounted to the front.

The bearded man frowned, "Strange looking?"

Christopher nodded and pulled the handle to the door in the bottom left corner. There was a slight hiss as the seal broke. The door swung open and a blast of cold air created a bit of fog as it hit the warmer air of the night. Christopher reached into the cold interior of the compartment and grabbed a handle. A quick pull and a shelf on wheels slid outwards.

Christopher pulled the white sheet back to show the body's face. "Take a look, Gaylord."

Gaylord's eyes widened behind his glasses. "Wh-what in the world? Where did you find her?"

"Woods. Where them other bodies were dumped. None of 'em looked like this though…"

"Indeed not…" Gaylord said taking a step closer to the gurney. Almost instantly he slipped into analysis -pushing aside the slight shock and awe. "Her hair seems bleached…eyebrows and eyelashes are still dark. Looks to be about 15 to 18 years old. A long gash –approximately six inches long- has been stitched closed, rather inexpertly at that…"

"Open her eyes…" Christopher prodded.

Gaylord sent the other man a slight glare but reached over and pried one eye open. He actually stepped back in shock. Her eye was hazy and distant much like he'd expected but he'd never in his life seen an eye that was _gold _before. And the slight tinge of green around the pupil was…unsettling. Quickly he reached over and shut her eyelid again.

"So what'dya think, Gaylord?" Christopher asked eagerly. "You want her?"

The bearded man was silent for a minute before slowly nodding. "Alright, put the corpse in my freezer. You know the drill." He said as he pulled the sheet back over the lifeless face.

"What'dya think she's worth?" Christopher asked as he pulled the covered gurney completely out of the refrigerated van. "It's gotta be something good I mean…you saw her! Who has eyes like that?"

Gaylord was silent as Christopher unloaded the body. Perhaps this was just the break he needed. His research with genetic manipulations had become rather frustrating of late. He wasn't making much headway at all anymore. He was lucky Christopher had a knack of showing up at just the right time. And that the man was greedy. Being willing to sell a body of a murdered girl? It wasn't exactly kosher behavior.

Gaylord held open the blue door for Christopher and his gurney. He glanced at his watch as Christopher disappeared into the building. It was nearly half past midnight, still early for him. The light caught the silver lettering on the watch face as he put his hand in his pocket.

Gaylord smiled a bit as he entered the building and bolted the door behind him. If he was right about the body his employers would be very pleased he'd managed to find someone like her. Genetic manipulation of an already mutated x-gene? The implications could blow his research to an all-new level.


	20. On The Table

Her pale skin was icy cold under his fingers. The bright light shone off the stainless steel table and made her skin almost glow. He took careful note of all the wounds on her body. Huge wounds had been sewn shut and wrapped in bandages. Her bones stuck out slightly, as if her skeleton was just a shade too big for her skin. She had apparently been tortured before she was killed; not at all like the other victims that he'd seen on his table.

He brought the sharp edge of his scalpel down with utter confidence. He needed to know how the girl died. A line of pink followed his movements as her pale skin split easily. He drew a long Y down her torso; not even flinching as the knife scrapped slightly against her sternum.

He put the scalpel off to the side and peeled the skin back to expose her slight ribcage. The door opened as he went to grab his next tool. "Hey, G…what's goin' on?" A man with dyed purple hair and a toothpick hanging out of his mouth asked as he walked over to the table. "New stiff, huh?"

"Your powers of observation are astounding…" Gaylord said blandly. "Christopher found her in the woods today."

"Not a bad face on her…if ya ignore the big ol' gash an' all…" the new man said jumping up to sit on a nearby stainless steel counter.

"I didn't know you were a necrophile, Davy." Gaylord commented as he walked back to the table.

Davy adjusted the pair of sunglasses that obscured his eyes and rolled the toothpick in his mouth. "I'm not…but ya gotta admit she's not exactly ugly or anything." He said awkwardly. "Anyway…what're you doing?"

"An autopsy. I want to know how much damage she survived before dying." Gaylord answered. There was a sickening snap as a large pair of bolt cutters sliced through a rib. Another snap followed. Then another. "She seems to have a mutated X-gene. If I can isolate the extent of her mutation I should be able to advance my own research." He said as another rib snapped.

"But…she's dead." Davy said.

"Another astute observation." Gaylord said as he put the bolt cutters off to the side. "It's amazing how much one can learn from the dead. But then you aren't much for learning are you?"

Davy frowned. "No need to be rude…remember I'm the reason you're being funded, Gaylord."

Gaylord paused, his bloody hands holding the sternum above the girl's body. His eyes narrowed behind his glasses and put the sternum aside. "I'm aware of your position, Davy." Gaylord bent closer to the opened chest and gently cut through the flesh.

Davy glanced over the body again. She only looked about sixteen or seventeen. It was times like this he really started reconsidering his current employment. It almost didn't seem worth it. Poor girl was nothing but a science experiment now.

_What was that sound? It was horrible. Something being squished. He was vaguely aware of something moving inside his chest. It was horrifying and yet he couldn't find the strength to move. ~Deiu! Someone! Make it stop!~ _

Davy sat up straighter. His eyes must be playing tricks on him. He could have sworn the girl twitched a bit. Davy narrowed his eyes. The girl's eyes twitched and Davy's eyes widened. "She just moved…"

Gaylord looked up. "What?"

"She just fuckin' moved!"

"Don't be absurd. She's dead as a doornail." Gaylord said annoyed.

"I'm telling you she moved, G!"

Gaylord gave the other man a glare. "She's dead." He said.

Davy shook his head and pointed. Gaylord sighed and looked over at where Davy was pointing. After a moment, her brow twitched and Gaylord took a quick step back. "That's…that's impossible…"

Silence filled the room. As the two men watched the body that was still pulled open began to twitch a little more. Finally, her dead eyes closed and when they reopened they were completely alert; slit pupils thin from the harsh light.

Slowly Gaylord took a step forward. He looked down and immediately her eyes found his. "Immortal…"

"Good Lord…" Davy breathed in shock.

Gaylord ignored Davy completely, focused only on the supposedly dead girl on his table. Her lip trembled slightly. "You're still alive aren't you?" He said pushing a lock of white hair back.

"_…w-where…am…am I?"_

Gaylord smiled a bit. His luck just kept improving. He didn't have a dead mutant. He had a live mutant. "You're on my autopsy table, my dear."

Her eyes widened. "_A-autop…sy?"_

"I thought you were dead. Had I known you couldn't die I wouldn't have sliced you open like I did…but I don't suppose it matters to you any does it?" He asked glancing at the open rib cage. If possible her eyes widened further. "You're going to be of great help to me, my dear."

He could feel his eyes burning. This man was utterly mad. ~_Help…someone…~ _The man above him smiled and he could swear his heart would have stopped. ~_Please…~_


	21. Obligatory Tension Building Chapter

It wasn't difficult for Logan to track Sam's path through the woods. The teen hadn't exactly been concerned with hiding his tracks. Waiting around the institute for Charles to locate Sam with Cerebro simply wasn't something that Logan could do. So, he had opted to go out and try to find Sam the old fashioned way.

He'd been looking for half the night already. Charles hadn't seemed to have been making much more progress than Logan was. Other than being able to tell that Sam was still in Bayville he hadn't pinpointed Sam's location. Kitty had made the suggestion that Sam might have run away and unfortunately Sam was just unpredictable enough with his mood swings to make that possible.

A little less than halfway from the Highschool to the Institute Logan came across the old railroad tracks. But for some reason that Logan couldn't fathom, Sam's tracks suddenly changed directions.

Logan knelt down by a footprint and studied it carefully. It was deeper than the others, with most of the weight put on the ball of Sam's foot. He was running. Logan's frown deepened. He hadn't seen Sam in many Danger Room sessions but from what he had seen Sam didn't particularly like running. Or…physical exertion of any kind, come to think of it.

No, Sam had been running _from _something. What could frighten someone who was already dead? Logan couldn't think of anything. Sam had seemed pretty blasé about most things, with the exception of fearing possessing living people that is.

The feral mutant followed the erratic trail deeper into the woods, noting the way the tree roots were clumped together in giant knots every few feet. As he passed a large oak he noticed something shiny on the ground. A growl built up when he recognized it as the shattered front of Sam's Image Inducer. Now it was definite that something was wrong.

Even if Sam had suddenly run away he wouldn't have been that careless with his Image Inducer. He hated being stared at and without his cloak he wouldn't have risked any harm to the inducer because it was his only buffer for his appearance.

Logan pocketed the watch-like device and looked around carefully. He hadn't found any other tracks but Sam's. So what was he running from?

~_Logan, have you found any thing?~_

_~Yeah, but I don't like it…~_Logan began as he straightened. ~_I found Sam's watch busted on a rock.~ _

There was a long silence from the Professor. _~Continue looking for him, Logan.~_

_~Already planning on it, Chuck.~ _Logan assured as he began to follow Sam's tracks again.

* * *

Sam twisted his hand a bit; trying to squeeze out from the metal cuff that Gaylord had used to lock him to the table. If he was lucky the stitches around his wrist would give out and he'd…he'd…he'd have a stump free. Well, it was better than nothing he thought as he pulled his arm again. It didn't help that his chest was still pulled open from Gaylord's autopsy.

Sam heard the door open from somewhere behind him and turned his head to try and see. Suddenly the table swung upward to be sitting vertically. Gaylord walked around to the front of the table, eyebrow raised. "You're such an odd thing…" The doctor said. "Your chest is ripped open and you don't seem bothered in the least. Do you not feel pain?"

Sam glared and remained stubbornly silent. After the initial shock of being at the hands of a crazy person had worn off Sam had found he wasn't at all scared of Gaylord. What was the worst he could do anyway? Kill him? Someone had beaten him to it about three years ago.

Gaylord frowned a bit. "Still not talking eh? Teenage rebellion I suppose…"

The teen scoffed. He'd outgrown 'teenage rebellion' several years ago. Instead of being prodded to talk more like he'd expected, Gaylord turned away from Sam and made his way to his desk, which was on the side of the room and just far enough back so that Sam couldn't quite see from his current angle.

After several minutes of nothing but the clicks of keys on Gaylord's keyboard, Sam felt the need to end the crushing silence. His mind was racing with different escape plans, each less plausible than the one before it. Somewhere in the back of his mind he realized that his mind shouldn't be racing like it was…that it was going to fast for him to keep up with.

Sam groaned a bit. The last thing he needed right now was to go into a manic episode. Though he guessed he should be glad he even recognized it for what it was in the first place. That meant he was getting better…he hoped that's what it meant at least. "Is something the matter, my dear?" Gaylord asked having heard Sam's groan.

"_I'm not your 'dear' so stop calling me that!" _

"How can I if I don't know your name?" Gaylord asked sweetly as he came to stand in front of the up-righted table.

Sam scowled. "_You can stop calling me everything and let me go."_

"Oh now I can't do that." Gaylord argued. "You're going to help me with a little project that I've been working on." Suddenly the table slammed back down, making Sam's head crack against the stainless steel.

Sam glared at the man. _"Just because I can't feel it doesn't mean you can slam me around." _He said annoyed.

"Ah, so you can't. I thought so." Gaylord said with a smile. "Thank you, for confirming that, my dear."

Sam huffed and looked off to the side. "_I'm a boy you know."_

Gaylord's eyebrow rose in surprise. "Is that so? How odd then that you have the anatomy of a female." It was clear by his tone of voice that he didn't exactly believe Sam's claim. "Well, either way it hardly changes my designs. You'll be the first step to a much larger world."

"_Is that so?" _Sam said mockingly.

Gaylord frowned a bit. "It is." He said walking around the table to pick up something from a tray where Sam couldn't see.

As the Doctor passed by, Sam caught the glint of silver lettering on his watch. "_HYDRA…" _He read quietly. Why did that name seem so ominous to him? And why did he feel like he'd read it before?

Sam cursed his faulty memories as the Doctor came back to the table, syringe with a monstrously thick needle in his hand. "Shall we start then?" He asked. He didn't bother to wait for Sam to reply and jerked his head forward slightly. The needle went straight between the vertebras of Sam's neck, digging in deeply before emptying the thick orange liquid.

Once he was free of Gaylord's hold Sam glared at the Doctor. "_And what is that supposed to do?" _He asked moving his neck to try and rid himself of the strange feeling of a thick hollow needle thrust into it.

"You'll see."

Sam scoffed. "_I doubt it." _After all, nothing had ever affected him before.


	22. Whisper

**For this chapter I wrote it in Sam's Point of View. It was necessary for the end where a new little twist gets introduced. I think this chapter is a bit 'eh' but at the same time I like it...anyway...I hope you like it at least. Enjoy.

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It wasn't easy to hide my growing amusement as Gaylord's frustration grew. He'd been injecting me with different chemicals in different spots for the past forty five minutes or so and judging by the way he tossed his latest needle into the sink he wasn't getting any closer to whatever he was trying to do.

Apparently, I wasn't so good at hiding it since Gaylord glared at me "You think this is funny?"

"_A bit." _I admitted happily. I was in the throws of a slight upswing and nothing was really bothering me at the moment. "_I told you it wouldn't work but you wouldn't believe me." _I added in a singsong voice. It was highly amusing to taunt him. Especially since he was so smug all the time.

Gaylord's scowl deepened. "You brat. You must think yourself amazingly clever don't you?"

I barely stifled a laugh. "_Me? Only when compared to you, Gaylord." _

"Just be quiet already." Gaylord snapped. "I'll create the perfect compound, just you wait."

"_Don't have much chance now do I?" _I replied as sarcastically as I could manage.

Gaylord frowned before suddenly brightening. "Of course. Why didn't I realize it before?" He murmured turning and hurrying to his set of chemicals and compounds.

"_You know you really shouldn't talk to yourself." _I offered. "_People'll think you're crazy."_

Gaylord ignored me though and continued to mutter to himself. "You clever little minx. Without a heartbeat the compounds haven't been moving through your body. The only way to create an effective treatment is to introduce it directly to the brain."

I frowned a bit. His mutterings were a bit troubling. "_And how do you think you'll manage that?" _I asked as I watched him mix a new chemical together. I didn't like the way he moved around. He was too excited to mean anything good.

Gaylord didn't answer me as he moved around. Finally he turned, holding a new syringe. The needle was no wider than a few hairs at the tip and at least four inches long. The liquid was a bright green, Day-Glo green to be exact. "This is how I'll manage it, my dear."

Merde. He was calling me 'dear' again. That couldn't mean anything good. Gaylord approached the table in a slow, predatory, way. He was smiling in a strange way that seemed completely out the realms of sanity. For once he actually scared me.

Gaylord reached over my face and pried my left eyelid as wide open as possible. I tried to jerk my head to the side and dislodge his hand but he held me almost perfectly still. "_Let me go, crazy bastard!" _

"Such a mouth on you." He said as I continued to try and get loose from his grip.

Without meaning to I froze when I saw the needle poised over my eye. He wouldn't dare! He couldn't! I tried to jerk away again and tried to close my eye. The needle was getting closer and the last thing I wanted was for it to go into my eyeball. "_Don't you dare! Let go!" _

He paused, the needle only a few centimeters from my eye. "What's the matter, my dear? Afraid?"

I couldn't tear my way from the tip of the needle. It was so close. Looming above my eye dangerously with the green liquid just above. I hated to admit it but I was. I was scared of that man and the needle that he was holding above me. "_…don't do it." _I hated the way my voice sounded; he could tell I was scared, I knew he could.

He smiled in that annoyingly superior way he had. "I thought I wouldn't be able to do anything to you, my dear."

I grit my teeth to avoid saying something I'd regret. I hated this man with an utter passion. I hated how helpless he'd made me. And I hated the fear that was clamoring in the back of my mind.

The needle got closer and closer and despite my efforts I couldn't get out of its path. I could feel it as he forced it into my tear duct. It was horrifying to feel the muscles around my eye get pushed aside by the needle. Even as I felt the needle push through layer after layer I couldn't look away from Gaylord's gruesome smile above me.

After several agonizingly slow minutes the base of the needle was right against my eye. I could see every slight movement of the green liquid. I was shaking. Every thought focused on the needle buried in my skull. "Why, my dear, I do believe you are showing signs of terror. Have an aversion to needles to we?"

"_Allez au diable!" _

"Was that French, my dear? Cursing in French, my what a talented little mutant you are." Gaylord mocked.

I saw his grip on the needle change and felt pressure building behind my eye as the plunger forced the green chemicals into my skull. "_Bâtard! Arrêtez-le!" _I couldn't help the French curses that I was shouting. They were bubbling up faster than English ones and somehow felt more…natural. "_Débauché insensé!" _

I felt something shift and my vision went black in my left eye. Something streamed down my face even as the pressure built even higher. Suddenly it felt like an explosion went off in my skull. I screamed as pain washed over me like a thousand swords digging into my brain.

Suddenly, I was free of Gaylord's grip and I thrashed, trying to get away from the unbearable pain. Thousands of mini-explosions went off behind my eyes sparking dangerously and sending pain radiating outward. Fire licked across my skin, making it bubble and char as I fought against the restraints. My bones seemed to twist and snap under my skin and muscles.

All I could hear was my own screaming. All I could see was tormenting blackness. I wanted to rip my own skin off because it hurt so much. It was mind shattering in strength. Not even dying had been this painful!

I could feel my grip on my body slipping away. I couldn't concentrate on staying there. I was scrambling to hold on to a cliff made of sand and beneath me was an endless fall of blackness. A place I knew I did not want to go. A place where I would die.

Slowly the pain faded away and I became vaguely aware of talking nearby. "Damn G…That girl could've woken the dead with all that screaming… sounded like someone was being murdered in here or something. What'd you do to her?"

I still couldn't see anything. I don't even know how I managed to hold on to my body. "I believe I just succeeded in advancing her mutation." Gaylord said casually. "Though I suspect that because it was an unnatural advancement it was a fair bit painful."

The other man scoffed. "Sounded more than a 'fair bit' G. I aint heard anyone scream like that before."

"It was rather heart stopping wasn't it?" Gaylord said.

I felt someone move my head but I still saw only black. "She even alive still?"

"I'd imagine so…she is immortal after all. But until she regains consciousness we'll have to keep her somewhere. I need the table for other experiments." Gaylord said. "Why don't you put her in the freezer for now? That should be more than sufficient to hold her until she wakes up."

I couldn't have fought had I wanted to, and I didn't particularly care at the moment as the man pulled me off the table. He flung me over his shoulder and I felt it dig into my stomach. It sent a fresh sensation of pain sparking along my nerves and I very nearly groaned. But a thread of a voice in my head told me to stay as quiet as possible. **Stay quiet, Sampson…It's alright…you'll be okay…**

I obeyed the voice. It seemed familiar and comforting though I had no idea why. It didn't even register at first that the voice was speaking French because it was so clear to me. All too soon I was dropped against a hard metal floor covered in tiny ice crystals.

I heard a door close and tried to gather the strength to roll over. Slowly I was able to do so. At least partially. I was on my side now as opposed to my back. Time seemed to stretch on forever and slowly my vision began to return to my right eye. I saw nothing but a metal wall, slightly obscured by my own bangs. Ice crystals clung to the strands of bone white hair confirming Gaylord's order to put me in a freezer. **You will survive, Sampson. **The voice whispered. For some odd reason I had the urge to laugh. Of course I'd survive…didn't I always?


	23. Jinkies!

**Right now I'm pretty much writing this for Bamf-Is-Awesome since that's the only person bothering to review...but still I'm in a Ghosty Groove right now so I'm not gonna let the lack of reviewers stop me...though this chapter is a little short simply because it was the best place to stop...**

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Logan followed the trail to a clearing deep in the forest. There it looked like Sam had lain down for a while. But what was odd was the second set of footprints that came into the clearing from the other side. Logan growled a bit as he examined the knee impressions in the ground next to where he was certain Sam had been.

He didn't like this. Sam wouldn't just let anyone approach him. Logan had to find him cornered in a Mausoleum and even then he remained as far away as possible. Logan followed the slightly deeper footprints back into the forest, heading back towards town. Logan pulled out his cell phone and pressed the speed dial.

A few minutes later, Storm who had been searching on the other side of the Institute Grounds picked up. "Storm, someone has Ghosty." He said without waiting for the white haired mutant to ask.

"Do you know who?"

Logan growled a bit in frustration. "No, but I intend to find out." He answered. "Tell Charles would ya?" Then he hung up, again without waiting for Storm to say something in response. He'd never been very good with phone calls.

He made good time through the trees, especially once the trail hit an actual path a few hundred feet away from the clearing. Logan paused and sniffed the air. He could smell smoke from a fire and what smelled like something burning to a crisp. Logan's eyes widened a bit. They wouldn't be…burning the kid would they?

Logan rushed forward, every sense fanning out to try and find the source of the smoke and burning smell. Then, quite suddenly, Logan stumbled across a small cabin tucked in between a number of tall trees. The smoke as well as the burning smell was coming from the chimney. Logan sighed a bit. At least it wasn't Sam that was burning.

Logan snuck forward a bit, edging his way around to the front of the cabin. In the driveway there was a large white van and a smaller blue car that had a large dent in the front bumper. Suddenly Logan stopped again. He could smell Sam. It was faint but he could definitely smell the scent of rotting flesh and the copious amounts of soap that Sam used to try and cover it.

He followed the scent around to the front porch. Through the window he could see a man sitting in front of an old television with the fire blazing on the opposite wall. But where was the smell coming from?

Logan looked around and in a moment found Sam's cloak hanging off the back of a chair. On the seat of the chair was a pair of jeans and a shirt folded up neatly. Logan could only just suppress the growl. What were Sam's clothes doing here? Better yet, What were they doing not _on Sam!? _

He turned his dark eyes to the man inside the window. He was about to get his answers. One way or another. Logan walked up and knocked on the door. He waited for a few minutes and then the man opened the door. There was a flurry of motion and Logan had the man pinned to the wall with his hand wrapped around his throat. "Alright, bub, I'm only gonna ask this once. Where's the kid?"

"W-what kid?" He asked through the hand choking him.

"The kid you found in the woods." Logan growled. Adamantium claws shot out of his knuckles and he held them up to the man's face. "I ain't gonna ask again, bub."

The man's eyes widened at the metal held in front of his face. "I-I sold her!" He admitted quickly. But then, Logan was a rather persuasive mutant…

"Sold her?!"

"She was already dead I swear!" He said clawing feebly at the hand around his throat like an iron band. "I didn't kill her! I just found her and sold the body!"

Logan's hand tightened but he didn't say anything. It was probably better to just let the idiot think Sam had been dead. "To who?" He demanded.

"G-guy named Gaylord Chenard! He runs a prosthetics shop on Fifth and Burke! Pays cash for body parts and black market organs!" He said hurriedly. The last thing he wanted was to test the man who had blades coming out of his fist and a grip like a vise clamp.

Suddenly he was flung across the room where he smashed into a cabinet. When he finally managed to get out of the debris his attacker had disappeared with the door left wide open. He rubbed his neck a bit still terrified by the brief encounter. He heard the starting of an engine but didn't dare move.

Logan hurried towards town in the stolen car as he flipped open his cell phone again. "Chuck, I think I know where Ghost-boy is. A shop on Fifth and Burke."

"Fifth and Burke? What would Sam be doing in that part of town?" Xavier asked worriedly.

Logan snorted a bit. "Doesn't sound like he had much choice, Charles. Don't worry though, I'll get him back."

"Be careful, Logan, there's no telling what kind of people are holding him." Xavier warned.

"Yeah, yeah. But I'm not the one you should be worryin' about, Chuck." Logan said before closing the phone and turning his attention back to the dirt road that led towards the city. He pressed down on the gas pedal a little more, urging the car to go faster. He didn't know why but he had a real bad feeling about all this.


	24. Infiltration

**I'm trying to keep this rated Teen so I didn't go into as much detail as I could have...you'll thank me as you read it. Remember...it could have been so much worse...**

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Logan glanced at the digital clock in the dashboard of the car before getting out and looking up at the small shop. It was nearly five in the morning. Sam had been missing for twelve hours now. And this crumby little shop with the lights half broken out was his best bet at finding him.

Logan circled around the building and found a small trashy alley with a loading bay. That was his way in. The steel door at the end of the loading bay wouldn't be a problem for his adamantium claws.

Three quick slashes and a roughly shaped triangle fell out of the door, leaving a hole wide enough for Logan to slip through. At first, Logan was certain that he'd stepped into someplace that had been long ago abandoned. There were hospital beds and old equipment piled high along the walls of the hallway and through the glass windows in nearby doors he could see more medical equipment stored and gathering a heavy layer of dust.

The linoleum floors were cracked and peeling as he made his way through the storage room of a hallway. An old newspaper rustled loudly as Logan crept past it, claws still at the ready. The feral mutant took a deep inhale. All he could smell at first was dust and mold. But as he moved further down the hallway he could smell other things too.

Rubbing alcohol for one. Blood for a disturbing number two. Logan pulled on every sense to tell him what was going on around him. He couldn't hear anything but his own slow footsteps. All he could see was dust-covered equipment. But he could smell where they'd taken Sam. It was faint and covered by the suffocating smell of dust but he could smell it.

There was a mechanical noise and Logan paused to look around. A security camera was up ahead, rotating from side to side slowly. He timed his approach for when the camera was pointing in the opposite direction. Once he was under the camera he reached up and slid his claws through the wires and gears.

With the camera taken care of, Logan hurried forward, following the faint trace of Sam. This clearly wasn't a military facility. The worst he'd come across was the single camera and a few simple locks that –had they led to anything he wanted to investigate closer- he would have easily been able to slice through.

Logan peered through one door and took a surprised stumble backwards. There were…there were bodies in there. But…it was so much worse than that. Legs and arms were hanging from the ceiling while torsos were propped up like mannequins along the wall. There were even severed heads on shelves. The smell of blood seeped through the door, even though Logan had gotten to the other side of the hallway.

He heard the creak of a door straining against his back and looked over his shoulder. Another room of body parts was behind him and Logan pushed off against the door to stand in the middle of the hallway. There had to bee thirty some bodies hacked to pieces and displayed in the two rooms. At first Logan thought the walls had been painted red through the windows but now he realized what he thought was paint was actually blood. Logan hurried past the rooms and vowed to not look into anymore of them. These people were utterly sick.

The suddenness of the voice in his head made Logan jump. ~Logan, have you found Sam yet?~ The Professor asked anxiously. ~I'm still having trouble locating him with Cerebro.~ Logan took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. He wouldn't let this place get to him.

~I'm in the place now.~ Logan thought back as he came to a more modern looking section of hallway. The doors had been upgraded to stainless steel with swipe card locks and what looked to be bulletproof glass in the windows. The floors were no longer peeling or dust covered though there were still machines stacked up against the walls. This place must have millions in medical equipment alone.

Logan caught a glimpse of one of the rooms through an open door and shivered slightly at the surgical equipment that was poised above a table with metal cuffs. This place –at least the newer section- reminded him of the Weapon X project a little too much. And the older section with the body parts hanging from the ceiling reminded him of something from a horror movie. ~Don't worry, Chuck, I'll find him.~ Logan promised as he slipped past the surgical room quietly. There was no way he'd leave the kid in a place like this.

Logan heard the buzz of another camera and quickly destroyed it before moving on. The hallway took a sudden turn to the left and Logan paused to cautiously look around it. There was a pair of stainless steel double doors at the end of the hall with a keypad lock. The smell of blood was coming from that room too. Logan was sure of it.

The mutant hurried forward and sliced through the door. Inside the room were a metal exam table and every chemist's wet dream of a lab setup. Logan growled a bit as he circled the room slowly. The place had been cleared out and fast. File cabinets were still pulled out of their shelves and papers were strewn across the floor. The computer looked as if an ax had been taken to it and most of the chemical vials and beakers had been smashed across the floor.

Logan let his muscles relax and his claws slid back into his knuckles. If this was the way their little mad scientist lab was there wasn't much chance they were still sticking around. Maybe that creep in the cabin had tipped them off. Logan growled again, he knew he should have just killed the guy. He was nothing but a leech anyway. Using other people's misfortune to turn a profit.

Logan thought briefly of trying to catch up to whoever was running this chop-shop of human bodies but thought better of it. He needed to find Sam first. This Chenard guy could wait until after. Sam would probably need help, that is if he wasn't already in one of those storage rooms from hell. Logan pushed the thought away. He didn't want to think about those rooms, much less the victims that were in them. Nobody deserved that. Well, maybe this guy Chernard or someone equally depraved but not some confused kid with amnesia. Logan would turn this place upside down, find Sam, and then get the hell out of here.


	25. Found

Logan searched the building methodically and with ever increasing speed as he came upon more and more gruesome discoveries. A jar of eyes balls floating in some sticky looking green gel on a shelf positioned right next to his own eye most recently. A little earlier, there had been what looked like intestines hanging from the rafters from one of the rooms. He hadn't really wanted to stay in that one for very long.

Logan came to a large steel door with a temperature gauge on the front next to a large handle. Even standing next to it, Logan could feel the waves of coldness that was coming off of the metal. A walk in freezer. Logan suppressed a groan, most likely something nasty would be in there. A quick flick of his arm and his claws extended, not willing to go on faith in this place.

The freezer door opened easily and Logan instantly saw that he was right. More corpses were inside. Laid down on metal shelves with a coating of ice crystals clinging to them. All of these bodies at least seemed intact. Oh wait, scratch that. There was a pair of human ribs hanging from a hook over in the corner. Logan closed the door with a slam. He really wanted to get the hell out of here. He was getting too used to seeing bodies everywhere.

A short ways down the hall there was another freezer. Logan hesitated before reaching out to the handle. He'd better check and make sure. But Logan frowned when the door didn't open. Who locked a freezer? The other one hadn't been locked and that had bodies in it.

Logan sliced the handle off of the door now he had to see what was inside. He grabbed the edge of the freezer door and pulled as hard as he could. The door opened fairly easily and a cloud of mist streamed out and covered the hallway. Logan sent his senses flaring again; ready for anything that might be inside.

The first thing he saw was the dead, distant, eyes of a girl about Jean's age almost directly in front of him. There was a shelf of dead bodies right in front of the door and they were all staring at him. "Fuck…" Logan muttered taking a small step back from the door. The way into the freezer was completely blocked by a wall of corpses. But that wasn't like any of the other rooms.

This was the first one he couldn't see into. Logan steeled himself away and took a hesitant step closer. It was then that he noticed the door wasn't completely blocked. There was a small walkway right along the wall and the shelves of bodies that he could use…if he really wanted to. He didn't really want to…he really wanted to go back to the mansion and have Chuck erase all these images from his head. But he had to find Ghosty first. Then he'd need some serious therapy. They both would. Not that they didn't already of course…

So, Logan crept along the wall, careful to stay as far away from the bodies that seemed to still be looking at him as possible. Once Logan made it to the corner, he could see the rest of the room easily. Strangely enough, there was only one other body in the freezer.

A young girl with…white…hair? "Sam!" Logan rushed forward to where Sam was laying with his back to Logan. Logan grabbed Sam's shoulder and the teen instantly flopped down to stare at the ceiling blankly. Logan took a step back.

Sam's chest was ripped open with none of his organs in the anatomically correct spots due to the ribs no longer holding them in place. His left eye had...exploded was the only word for it. Blood and eye fluid streamed down his face and the eye itself was mangled in its socket. "Kid, Sam…say something, Ghosty." Logan said gently shaking the teen's shoulder.

Sam just stared at the ceiling and didn't even seem to notice Logan was there. Ice crystals clung to his skin, turning it blue in several spots while his hair was frozen into stiff clumps. Logan noticed the stitches around Sam's wrist had slackened and the limb was in danger of falling off again.

~Chuck, I found Sam but he doesn't even seem to see me.~ Logan said still staring with a bit of horror at the mangled eye socket.

~Bring him back, Logan. If he's left his body we can deal with it here in the Institute.~ The Professor said after a minute of silence.

~He's been tore up pretty badly, Charles. I don't think any of the kids should see him like this.~ Logan admitted as he shed his coat to cover Sam's naked and mangled body.

Charles took a minute to search through Logan's memories of the building and Sam's condition. ~Agreed. Come in through the bay doors. I'll alert the proper authorities to the building once you've gotten back. Those people deserve better than that.~

Logan silently agreed as he lifted Sam's limp body. He hadn't figured Sam would weigh as little as he did. He couldn't be more than ninety pounds. Carefully, he edged his way past the row of bodies. He could swear he saw their eyes move to follow him as he slid past.

Once he was out of the freezer, Logan wasted no time in backtracking to the outside of this horror fest. This experience would probably add a lovely tinge to his dreams for the next few months. He could only be glad none of the kids had been here to see this sicko's work. They wouldn't have been able to handle it; especially not Half-Pint, she'd have been running through the walls to get out of here.

He made his way back to where he had left the car and carefully put Sam across the back seat. Sam still didn't seem to notice anything, though the ice crystals were starting to thaw and leave trails of water across his skin. Bits of ice melted off his hair and dripped down his cheek like a tear. "Don't worry, Kid, we'll help ya." Logan said before closing the door to the back seat.

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**I did a little editing and fixed up some of the grammar problems that _I_ caught...it was late last night.**


	26. Finding Sam part I

**Lot's of talking in this chapter but next chapter is one of my favorites and it's way longer than this one...so yeah...enjoy!**

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Logan put the unresponsive Sam on the bed in the medical bay and stepped back. "He aint said a word the whole time, Charles." He said as The Professor came closer to the bed. "Hasn't even moved…" He added grimly.

Xavier nodded a bit to show he had heard but didn't comment right away. Xavier put a gentle hand to Sam's forehead and closed his eyes. After several minutes, he opened his eyes and sighed. "I can't sense him." He admitted sadly.

"He's left his body?" Storm asked sounding worried.

The Professor sighed. "If he has then it will take at least two months before I can find him with Cerebro again." He said as he pulled the crisp white sheet up to hide Sam's collapsed chest.

"Whatd'ya mean 'if'?" Logan asked.

"Sam's eye isn't as it was when he was possessing you, Logan." The Professor stated. "When he left his body his eye became very pale, but they have not done so here." The room lapsed into silence, all three of them trying to come up with a possible solution to this new problem.

"So what's the plan, Charles?"

Xavier shook his head. "At the moment, I'm not sure what we can do other than wait." Suddenly he looked over his shoulder. "Kurt? You have something to add?" He asked.

Kurt peered around the corner and gave a nervous laugh. "Uh, sorry Professor."

"It's alright, Kurt, but please, you had something you wanted to say." Xavier prompted.

"J-ja." Kurt said taking a hesitant step into the medical room. He only glanced at Sam's body before looking at the Professor instead. "I was thinking…maybe Forge could find Sam faster, Professor. I could even go get him if you want..."

Xavier put a hand to his chin in thought. He wasn't at all certain what Forge had been working on, or even if he'd made any progress in the day since the tests. But he supposed if anyone was going to make progress in that amount of time it would be Forge. Slowly the Professor nodded. "That's a good idea Kurt. But it isn't necessary for you to go and get him. Why don't you go upstairs with the others?"

Kurt looked vaguely disappointed but nodded and teleported off, presumably to where the others were waiting for a recon report. Xavier knew that they had wanted to go out looking for Sam. It had only been the Professor's insistence that Logan and Storm could find him that kept them in the institute.

"Do you think that Forge will really be able to help, Charles?" Storm asked.

"We need to expend all options, Storm. But it's late and it would be better, I think, to wait until the morning." Xavier explained.

The next morning came fast and Forge was quick to come and see what he could do to help. Forge was slightly taken aback by Sam's state when he finally saw him. Even though Storm had taken it upon herself to at the very least hide Sam's mangled eye with bandages it was clear that something gruesome had happened.

"I've developed a scanner." Forge started as he pulled out a machine that looked much like his trans-dimensional projector. "It keys into Sam's mental patterns in order to track him."

"His mental patterns?" Storm asked.

Forge nodded. "During our test I figured out that Sam's power works sorta like the reverse of Rogue's. Where Rogue absorbs other people's mental patterns Sam suppresses other peoples' with his own, allowing him to control them. So, no matter where he is the scanner should pick him up. That also explains why he's still suffering bipolar disorder. His mental pattern is that of when he died so even without a chemically imbalanced mind he still has the same problems."

"So, why was I hearing his memories afterward that test?" Logan asked with a frown.

Forge thought for a minute scratching his head as he did so. "Well, I guess when he leaves a body it's not a perfect removal of his mental patterns. That might explain his amnesia, every time he changes bodies his mental pattern degrades a bit more. In order to protect himself he probably allows bits he doesn't use much to be left behind." He explained as he pressed several buttons on his scanner's front panel.

The scanner started humming as it came to life. Forge turned a small dial to focus in on Sam's unique brain patterns. The small sonar-like screen that was positioned near the top of the machine started picking up signals almost instantly.

"How long is this going to take?" Logan asked as the machine started to beep ever few seconds.

"Depends on where Sam actually is." Forge replied as he adjusted the settings of the machine again. After a minute, Forge frowned and looked over at the Professor. "The scanner's saying he's still in that body." Forge said nodding at the body on the hospital bed.

"How is that possible?" Storm asked. "The Professor said he couldn't sense Sam at all."

Xavier folded his hands "It's possible…" He began slowly "That in order to protect himself Sam's mind shut down into unconsciousness. I may not have been able to sense him if that were the case."

"Then what are we going to do?"

"I may have to do a more in depth exploration of Sam's mind in order to find him and bring him back to full consciousness." Xavier said with a sigh. "It's not something I enjoy doing though."

"Doesn't look like we have much choice, Chuck." Logan commented from where he was leaning against the doorframe of the room.

The Professor sighed again. "No, it doesn't…"


	27. Finding Sam part II

**Recap of last part: With the help of Forge Professor X and the other teachers discovered that, while Sam didn't seem responsive, he was still inside of his body. Now the Professor has decided the best way to bring Sam around is to enter his mind...should be fun!**

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Professor Xavier put his hands on either side of Sam's head and closed his eyes. He focused all of his senses on the mutant lying in near comatose in front of him and slowly the rest of the room started falling away.

At first, everything was pure black and the Professor could hear the growls and snarls of unknown creatures in the shadows that blinded him. He felt the weight of his body settle on his legs as he temporarily regained the use of them. "Sam? Can you hear me?" The Professor called into the darkness. There was a blinding flash of light that made the Professor close his eyes and throw his arm up for added protection.

When the Professor opened his eyes and looked around the darkness had disappeared. He'd managed to enter Sam's mind with little difficulty. It was different than the last time he had entered Sam's mind, but then the teen wasn't in the throws of a Mania Episode either. Currently, Sam's mind was very manifested; a physical representation of his mind. He'd rarely seen such a fully realized _world _for someone's mind before.

The Professor was standing on the crest of a hill, or at least he had thought he was because a second later the ground buckled and he was in a valley. All of the ground seemed to be swelling and falling like waves as the Professor gathered his bearings. Soundless lightening lit up the sky almost continually and in the distance the Professor could see a tall white stone tower.

There were trees to his left that were shifting between gold and green. The ground was shifting colors too now that he noticed. It was almost eerily quiet, with the constant shifting of the ground and the lightening overhead one would think it was constant noise but there was barely any at all.

"Hello Professeur."

Xavier whipped around and came face to face with someone he was certain he didn't know. A girl, late teens to early twenties, with short cropped hair and a youthful face offset by knowledgeable eyes stood there with her arms folded behind her back. She wore an old world tunic and a pair of pants that looked a shade too big along with a silver crucifix around her neck. "Who are you?" The Professor asked. "Sam?" He asked unsure.

She smiled a bit. "Yes and no." Xavier noted the heavy French accent in her earthy voice. "I am Sampson's subconscious…and the source of his powers. A personification of such things, I suppose, would be the best way to describe myself."

"Where is Sam?" Xavier asked; he'd save the other thousand questions in his mind until after he had made sure his student was safe.

The girl gestured with her head over his shoulder towards the large tower sitting still amid the ever-rolling ground. "He's recovering. He wasn't ready for his powers to advance. It was too much of a shock for him and I sent him to sleep until he could adjust."

"You have that kind of power?" Xavier asked in awe.

"Only over Sampson. We are the same after all."

"Sampson…that's Sam's real name?" Xavier asked.

She nodded. "Sampson Vance LeRoux." Xavier opened his mouth to ask another question when the ground gave a particularly violent roll and he nearly lost his balance. The girl laughed a bit behind her hand. "Don't try to fight it, Professeur. Sampson always does…makes it worse I'm afraid. Just allow the ground to move as it wants…go with the flow as it were…"

Xavier struggled to regain his balance. "Why does the ground do this?"

"It is Sampson's changing moods." She explained. "The green is his depression, the gold his mania…the more the ground shifts the larger the mood swings are. The lightening is a new addition though." She added pointing to the sky.

"From his kidnapping?" Xavier guessed.

She nodded. "It's him trying to cope with what happened. It was like this before. When he died. He's getting much better though, I believe I have you and your Institute to thank for that."

"You talk as if you're two different people."

She shrugged. "It reduces the confusion and most people are not aware of their subconscious so it is almost as if we are two different people."

"Just how much do you know about Sam's powers?" Xavier asked curiously. This 'subconscious personification' seemed to be more aware than Xavier would have expected and he wasn't entirely certain how to handle the situation.

"I am the source of them, Professeur." She reminded him. "Sampson could easily master his abilities should he only call upon me. But then the issue is how does one do such a thing? How does one reach enlightenment? It's not a question I can answer."

There was a long silence and she turned to stare up at the silent display of lightening flashing above them. The Professor wasn't quite sure what he could say to that. Sam's subconscious had a point. Who could really tell what was buried in their subconscious?

"I take it you want to see Sampson?" She said suddenly. The Professor nodded in agreement. "Then I'll take you to him." She started walking and Professor X had to rush to follow her.

The distance to the tower was surprisingly small and within only a few moments they were standing outside of a large archway. On the keystone a large S was carved into the grey surface. But then the Professor noticed another door off to the side that was closed but was battered enough that gold light filtered through the cracks around the edges. "What is that door?"

She turned to look at what the Professor was looking at. "That is where I reside."

"And the J carved into it?" Xavier asked noting the almost invisible J that was scoured into the old wood.

"Je or 'I' in French. It is the core of our being but Sampson rarely goes there. He doesn't like self introspection much I'm afraid."

The Professor accepted this and continued to follow Sam's subconscious into the large tower. "May I ask why Sam's subconscious is…female?"

She glanced over her shoulder and smiled mischievously. "Sampson's power is passive. A feminine trait. If it were to be something to the effect of firing laser beams from his hands then I would imagine I would take a more masculine form."

There was a large circular room inside the tower before a staircase spiraled upwards. In the middle of the room was a large pit with spikes crisscrossing dangerously so that they would disembowel anyone unlucky enough to fall in. The Professor peered down into the blackness and an icy breeze nearly pushed him off his feet.

Sam's subconscious quickly pulled him away from the edge. "Take care, Professeur. It would be difficult to save you should you fall in."

"W-what is it?" The Professor asked as he looked down with wide eyes. He could almost swear he saw the shadows writhing like searching tentacles against the walls of the pit.

"It leads to Sampson's memories." She said as she skirted the pit, gently pulling the Professeur along. "They have been locked away until Sampson can come to terms with them."

"You mean the memories of his death." Xavier said glancing into the pit again.

She nodded sadly. "Among other things. He could not deal with the reality of it and so I stored them here so that he can slowly adjust…but he never returned to do so. He doesn't really want to I don't think."

"How did Sam die?" Xavier asked as they climbed the spiral stairs.

"I cannot tell you that, Professeur. Nor would I want to. That is something Sampson must remember on his own." She said. From the tone of her voice the Professor decided that there wouldn't be much chance of convincing her otherwise


	28. Finding Sam part III

**Recap of last part: The Professor entered Sam's mind and met his Subconscious who agreed to take the Professor to where Sam was...**

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After several minutes of climbing the stairs the Professor and Sam's subconscious came to a long hallway. On either side of the hall there were full-length mirrors with silver gilded frames. Several of the mirrors were cracked or shattered completely. Before the Professor could even think to ask about them Sam's subconscious explained, "Sometimes if you do not like yourself…you lash out without really knowing how it changes you. Sampson hasn't liked himself at all since Eli's car crash."

The Professor nodded, he'd noticed that little problem already. He'd have had to be blind and stupid to not notice it. Sam still had very little desire to test his abilities and control in case another accident happened.

Sam's subconscious opened a door at the end of the hallway. The room beyond was a bit unnerving. Fire raced up two of the room's sides, one to either side of where the Professor was standing, and from what Xavier could see the floor looked to be a piece of glass above a furnace. "Do not worry, Professeur, I won't let you be burned." His guide said walking fearlessly into the fiery room.

Xavier followed her with a slight bit more caution and when he reached the middle of the room it suddenly changed. The fires died out and snow started descending from the ceiling as an icy chill swept through the room. The Professor's breath came out as a stream of mist while tiny ice crystals clung to the once fire bathed walls. His guide smiled a bit and gestured towards the other end of the room. Slowly, they made their way through the ice and snow.

The next room was almost like a zoo. Terrible creatures, snarling beasts really, were chained to the walls. The Professor and his guide were just out of the creatures reach, though they tried their best to bite and claw them anyway.

"Each represents a fear." Sam's subconscious said, edging around a red dog-like thing with no eyes yet fearsome five-foot spikes and jagged teeth. She slowly held a hand out and the dog-thing snarled a bit before taking a sniff of her hand. Almost instantly it tried to rip her hand off, though she had already pulled it back. "They are quite difficult to handle when they get loose."

Another creature –much smaller than some of the others- caught Xavier's attention. It was an almost human looking thing with blade-like protrusions from its elbows and wrists. Two large yellow eyes stared at them with unblinking fascination. Its skin was a rusty color and a slight pattern of train rails could just be seen down its arms, legs, and boney back. "What is that one?" The Professor asked.

"Railroads." She answered. "They remind Sampson of his death and so he has developed a slight fear of them. Though, this one is much easier to handle than the others." She added holding out her hand to the small creature.

The rust colored imp sniffed her hand but unlike the other creature seemed to loose interest and turned its attention to the bigger creature that was thrashing on the other side of the room. The imp hissed a bit, sounding like steam escaping, and retreated to the wall behind it. "I almost feel guilty, keeping such a passive fear locked up, but it showed its teeth a little while ago and I decided I couldn't let it go free any longer."

The Professor looked around the room carefully. Some of the bigger monsters required several dozen thick chains to keep under control while ones like the little imp barely seemed to need the chain it was wearing. All told there were three particularly large monsters that each needed dozens of chains to restrain.

One was a pure black thing with a multitude of thin, long arms and waves of black smoke obscuring its legs. It easily filled the room from floor to ceiling and had two burning red eyes with tiny dots of black for pupils. There was no mouth but long tendrils of smoke seemed to reach out and try to grab at the nearest creatures.

Another huge creature in the room was an ogre-looking creature with a fire bursting to life across his skin in uneven patches while six eyes searched the room relentlessly for something. The ogre roared loudly and pulled at the chains, which creaked in protest but didn't give way.

The last large creature was a giant rat. Only this rat was skeletal looking with black spikes protruding down its spine and tail. It also was a sickly green color with yellowed teeth and nails that ripped easily through the stone floor.

"Come, Professeur, we should not linger in this room." Sam's subconscious said leading the way through the menagerie of unpleasant creatures and monsters that lingered in Sam's mind.

At the end of the room, was a large carved wooden door. An angel holding a cross and sword was flying near the top and a field of wheat was carved near the bottom. It didn't seem to coincide at all with Sam's personality. Sam's subconscious pulled the cross off of her neck and used it like a key on the large brass door handle. "The cross is the key?" The Professor asked slightly bewildered –he hadn't thought Sam was particularly religious. She just gave a slight smile before pushing the door open.

At first, the Professor thought he had gone completely blind. The amount of light that was coming from inside the room was so intense it caused black dots to swim in front of his eyes. After several minutes, the Professor recovered and walked into the room, not noticing that the girl didn't follow.

At first glance the room seemed to be like any normal bedroom, if a bit old fashioned. The bed had gauzy curtains and there was a fireplace that didn't look as if it had ever been lit –though a large sword was hanging above it like a trophy. The Professor could just see that someone was on the bed and moved towards it, foregoing examining the room any further.

The Professor pulled back one of the curtains and paused in surprise. Sam wasn't at all like he expected. He was much older than the Professor would have thought; he was definitely in his late teens. And he had muscles, somehow that seemed opposing to Sam's personality. But he didn't have muscles to the point of Logan; still it was more than Xavier had thought he'd have –somehow the image of a thin rather nerdy boy had been in the Professor's mind. A healthy bronze tan contrasted sharply with the white bed linens. His hair was short and black with an uneven hair cut that reminded the Professor oddly of Rogue's friend, Risty, though it wasn't the same.

The Professor put a hand on Sam's shoulder and gently shook. "Sam? Sam, can you hear me?"

Sam shifted a bit with a pained noise but didn't open his eyes. "He's not ready to wake up, Professeur." The girl said from her spot in the doorway and stopping Xavier from trying to wake his student again.

Xavier turned with a frown. "Then when will you let him wake up?" He almost demanded.

She shrugged. "When he's ready. Now, I believe it's time you leave, Professeur. The longer you stay here the longer it will take me to help Sampson recover." There was another blinding flash of golden light and the Professor found himself closing his eyes tightly.

When he opened them he was sitting in his wheelchair in the infirmary with the mangled body that Sam was possessing lying on the table in front of him. "Chuck? You okay?" Logan asked.

"You were gone for a long time." Storm added worriedly.

"Yes… I found some very…interesting things in Sam's mind. But I was unable to wake him." Xavier said rubbing his forehead tiredly. He'd spent a lot of energy trying to reach Sam. "For now it seems, all we can do is wait for Sam to recover on his own." He added after a moment of thought.


	29. The Article

**I'm just rolling right along here...**

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Two weeks had passed since Logan brought Sam back to the Institute in his strange coma-like state. The teen hadn't so much as twitched the entire time and the Professor still couldn't reach him mentally.

In order to distract themselves most of the other students had decided to delve into the clues to Sam's past that they had found in his music box. "Alright, searching for anyone missing under the name Sam Vance." Evan said as he clicked on the search button on the computer screen.

After several minutes, the computer screen fully loaded with almost six hundred hits. "Oh man…how come there's so many Sam's in the world?" Kurt asked seeing the large number of results they had gotten.

"What about if you include the date?" Rogue suggested.

Evan nodded and quickly added 'December 3' to his search bar. Once the next screen loaded the results had been cut down by a little over half. "That's still a lot, Dude…"

"Well, what do you expect? If it was that easy don't you think Sam would have done it himself already?" Scott asked from where he was sitting on the couch with his English Textbook. Him and Jean had steadfastly avoided joining the others…at least outright. They were still giving a comment every once and a while.

"How about if you, like, used the newspaper clipping?" Kitty said before phasing through Evan's chest –with a slight protest from Evan- to type the headline into the search bar herself.

This time over a thousand hits, since Kitty had gotten rid of the other search parameters. "Whoa…" She slipped back through Evan. "That's, like, a lot of missing kids…"

"Over two thousand kids are reported missing each day." Jean informed. "Try adding everything into one search." She suggested looking over at where the others were crowded around the computer.

"Right." Evan quickly typed in everything their snooping had found.

After several minutes, they still had a little over a dozen matches. "Oh, man, this is hopeless…" Kurt groaned as he flopped half over the back of Evan's chair.

"Nah, man, fourteen are a lot easier to search than six hundred." Evan pointed out before clicking on the first result. It wasn't long before they discarded that result as an option. That Sam Vance had been sixty and his teenage nephew had gone missing, not him.

The second was a woman named Eliza Vance who went missing with her infant daughter Samantha. That one was discarded too. After almost an hour they had gone through all fourteen hits and still found nothing. "It's like he never even existed." Rogue said as they discarded the last option of a teen named Samara Wright who went missing with her boyfriend Jon Vance.

"It'd help if you had his real name."

The teens turned and saw Logan leaning against the doorframe with an apple jabbed on the end on his claws. "Mr. Logan? You, like, know Sam's real name?" Kitty asked with a little surprise.

"Yep." He said before taking a bite out of his apple.

After a minute of waiting, Logan still hadn't shared his information. "Well, what is it all ready?" Rogue asked exasperatedly.

Logan waited another several minutes before tossing a crumpled up piece of paper at them. "I never gave ya that." He commented before turning and quietly leaving the room with his apple still stuck on his claws.

Evan, who had caught the paper, quickly flattened out the paper ball on the desk. Scott had even abandoned his book to look over his shoulder. "Sampson Vance LeRoux…" Evan read aloud.

"French. I guess that makes sense." Scott commented.

Evan typed the name into the search bar and clicked on the first result that he was given. The result was a newspaper archive with the headline "SEARCH ENDED FOR LOCAL TEEN". "I think this is it…" Kurt said getting a little excited.

"That's what you, like, said three time already." Kitty pointed out.

"The search was ended yesterday for local teenager, Sampson LeRoux." Scott read. "Authorities say that they have found no evidence of foul play in the disappearance and the teen had a history of depression and erratic behavior."

"Sounds like him." Rogue commented blandly.

Scott frowned a bit and continued to read the article aloud. "Sampson disappeared December 3rd after leaving his home in Tioga for a party at a friends house."

"Tioga? Where's that?" Kurt asked curiously.

"Tioga County, it's here in New York. Over near the Finger Lakes." Jean supplied finally abandoning her own reading for the more interesting article that the others had found. "My parents go up there every once and a while for the wine."

"Sampson's parents deny the claims that their son was suicidal and insist that something had happened to him during his walk across town. 'Sampson wasn't like that', his mother said Saturday, 'he'd have never killed himself. He had bipolar, but it was under control.' Mr. And Mrs. LeRoux have two other children in middle school both of which claim their brother wouldn't have run away without telling them." Rogue continued where Scott left off.

The rest of the article wasn't particularly helpful, citing rising crime rates and increased number of runaways reported everyday. "Looks like they just assumed he ran off." Scott commented.

"I wonder if Sam knows he has siblings…" Jean mused thoughtfully. "I just sorta assumed he was an only child."

"Me too." Kitty said "You think he'd, like, be a little friendlier if he had brothers and sisters…"

"Well, dude _did _forget his own name." Evan pointed out.

"At least we found something though." Kurt said pointing to the article. "We know his parents are still looking for him! That ought to make him happy, right?"

Scott frowned a bit. "Kurt, this article is from nearly three years ago, that's a long time to keep looking for someone."

"B-but…they're his parents."


	30. A Mother

**A little filler-y but I'm still kinda diggin' this chapter mostly because we're finally getting somewhere in Sam's past. And Storm has a part finally! Yay for all you Storm-lovers out there! Woo!**

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Storm brushed a strand of unruly white hair away from her face as she walked down the main street of the small town in Tioga County. The students hadn't been the only ones to dig deeper into Sam's past. The Professor had been intrigued enough by the things he found in Sam's mind to do his own investigating.

Apparently, Sam's parents had divorced only a year or so after Sam went missing, though they both remained in the area. Sam's mother still lived in the same house that they had been in when Sam was alive and so Storm figured that would be the best place to start her own part of the investigation.

The house was a fairly well maintained two story built in the last century with white clapboard siding and a slightly unruly garden and yard that was littered with toys. The walkway was a bit curvy as it separated from the public sidewalk and made its way up to the porch of the house.

Storm knocked on the door and glanced around as she waited. Two bikes had been left leaning against a nearby tree and a toddler's tricycle was sitting in the middle of the driveway. The door opened and a middle-aged woman with dark hair sprinkled with strands of silver appeared in the doorway. "Yes?"

"Ms. Vance?"

"Yes, is there something I can help you with?" She asked, green-hazel eyes wary.

Storm smiled, trying to ease the tension a bit. "My name's Ororo Monroe. I was wondering if I could ask you some questions about your son, Sampson."

Ms. Vance's eyes widened for a minute before they turned hard again. "Are you a reporter? Because I already told you people to leave my family alone."

"No, I'm not a reporter." Storm assured. "I'm…looking into cold cases and your son's came up."

"You're a cop?" Ms. Vance asked a little bewildered. "You don't look like a cop." She added taking in Storm's suit and skirt.

"No, no I'm not. I just try and help out." She answered, trying to stay as close to the truth as possible but at the same time not willing to tell a stranger her son had died three years ago and was now laying in a virtual coma. It wasn't exactly what she thought would be easy to work into a conversation.

Ms. Vance seemed to think for a minute before stepping to the side and letting Storm inside. Storm smiled as she entered the house. "Thank you, Ms. Vance. I understand this is probably hard to have brought up."

Sam's mother led Storm into the living room. "It was harder when they said they wouldn't keep looking for him." She said sitting down on the couch opposite Storm. "Like he wasn't worth the effort anymore…What was it you wanted to know?" She asked softly.

"Why were they so sure that Sam ran away?" Storm asked. "The detectives seemed convinced of it."

Ms. Vance sighed heavily. "My son had just gotten out of the hospital a few weeks before he went missing. A depressive episode. They just assumed he had a relapse and wouldn't listen to what my family or me was telling them. My son wouldn't have run away, Ms. Monroe. He just wouldn't. Him and the twins were very close. They just adored their big brother and he was good with them. Better than most people would think anyway."

"But there was no real evidence of him running away?" Storm asked curiously.

"Well, Sam had -it seems stupid to most people- but he had this music box that I had made for him when he was a baby. All my kids have one. When Sampson disappeared, so did his music box." She explained. "But it didn't make any sense. If you knew Sam at all, you'd have understood."

Storm folded her hands in her lap to keep from saying something and instead asked, "What do you mean, doesn't make sense?"

"I picked out the song in Sam's music box because it was based on an old French tune and his grandfather, proud Parisian that he was, insisted. But Sam loved it. Until we got better with his medications, it was the only thing that could cheer him up when he went into his depression and the only thing that really kept him calm during a mania." Ms. Vance said with a slight smile. She looked up after a minute "If Sam had his box he wouldn't have run away. It would have calmed him down enough that it wouldn't have even entered his mind. I know it."

Suddenly, a toddler ran into the room, screaming with tears streaming down his red face. Ms. Vance scooped the youngster up instantly. "Shh, Come now, Dominic, stop that." She cooed as the boy buried his face in his mother's neck, still crying loudly.

"How old is he?" Storm asked with a smile. He reminded her of when Evan had been young. Loud and always wanting attention from his mother.

"Two and a half." Ms. Vance answered absently as she tried to ease the youngster's sobs. Storm was mildly surprised the boy was already so coordinated. Two was a little young to be running around on his own. "I'm sorry, Ms. Monroe. But I really don't have anymore time right now."

"I understand." Storm said getting to her feet. "You've been very helpful. Thank you for your time, Ms. Vance. If I find anything new I'll be sure to tell you."

Ms. Vance smiled -though it looked more sad than happy- as she balanced her little son on her hip. "I'd appreciate that, Ms. Monroe. You're the first person to ask about Sampson in a long time."


	31. Pictures of You

**Short but to the point...And yes I was listening to the song Pictures of You when I was writing this chapter...it definitely adds to the feeling I was trying to emulate.**

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Storm's next stop was in a small art gallery a few towns over from Sam's hometown. According to the police report, Sam only had two real friends in school. Elijah Howe and Eva Maxwell. Elijah had died in a car crash so that only left Eva, the one whose party Sam had been going to when he disappeared.

After Highschool Eva had started up her own art gallery, which also served as her studio. Storm walked into the modern building and asked the receptionist behind the desk if Ms. Maxwell was there. The receptionist said she would be down in a few minutes and to please wait. Storm quickly found a way to occupy herself with the large photographs hanging on the white gallery walls. Apparently, Eva's medium was film.

All of the pictures on display seemed to be of a series. The first one was of a boy in his late teens sitting on a windowsill and staring out of the foggy and rain spattered glass. His black hair obscured most of the boy's face but Storm could still see stunningly green eyes peering thoughtfully into the distance. Storm glanced at the title on the card nearby _Depth of Thought. _Storm looked at it for a few more minutes before moving down to the next.

The same boy as before but with two younger children sleeping on his legs as he reclined across a slightly battered blue couch. The black haired teen was sleeping with his head on the armrest and a book splayed across his chest. Storm smiled a bit and moved on. The next photo was called _To start a car _and again featured the black haired boy. This time he was leaning against a dented sedan while another teen -this one with shaggy brown hair- was digging into the engine compartment.

The next photo in the series made Storm frown. It was called _Restraint _and it was a close up of an arm with a needle pushing into a pulsing vein. Despite the background being blurry Storm could tell the person getting the needle was probably the same teen as in the other pictures.

"Ms. Monroe?"

Storm turned and saw a young woman with a long braid of brown hair and soft blue eyes. "Yes, Ms. Maxwell I presume?" The woman nodded as she took Storm's offered hand. "I was wondering if I could ask some questions about your school friend, Sampson LeRoux."

Eva looked vaguely surprised. "O-of course."

"I'm looking into Sampson's disappearance. Was there anybody that Sampson was having problems with?" Storm asked as her and Eva simultaneously started walking down the length of the gallery. "Anybody who might have wanted to hurt him?"

"Other than the normal bullying idiots, there wasn't really anything like that." Eva said.

"Bullying?"

Eva nodded. "Sam had bipolar. It first appeared when we were thirteen when he decided it would be a riot to jump off the roof of the school building. People just didn't understand, ya know? And with them constantly changing his medications it was hard for him to fit in. Most of his friends just sort of…stopped talking to him. Some even outright avoided him. But a few people decided it would be good sport to pick on him whenever he managed to get in a good mood. It's hard to see one of your best friends constantly fighting his way out of a depression only to be thrown right back into it because some jerk called him a worthless lunatic."

"Any of these bullies seem violent?" Storm asked concerned at this new development.

Eva thought for a minute before shaking her head. "Not really. They were all pretty much jerks that didn't get how hard it was for him." Suddenly Eva paused. "Actually, now that you mention it, there was one guy that really seemed to have it out for Sam…"

"Who?"

"His name was Kevin Saunders. He was the worst of the bullies. He liked to vandalize Sam's car and locker. Spray paint, stealing the car battery, gluing doors shut, all sorts of stuff like that. They got into a few fistfights but nothing really more than that. But, he was also the one who called Sam a worthless lunatic. Sam needed to be hospitalized for that one…" Eva said softly.

"Do you know where he is now?" Storm asked curiously.

Eva scoffed a bit. "Probably flipping burgers like the punk he is. But other than that; no. We've never been on good terms. And when Sam went missing…" Eva broke off there.

Storm nodded in understanding. "These are very good pictures." She said gesturing to the nearest one in an attempt to lighten the mood. "They have a lot of emotion in them."

Eva nodded. "Sam always was photogenic." She said with a slight smile. "Even if I did have to be sneaky about it."


	32. Waking

**Gah, I'm so done with this chapter...I cant seem to get it not choppy. I give up...but at least it's longer than the last one was.**

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The sound of large engines filled the area and Kurt looked up to see the Blackbird descending towards the loading bay. That meant that Storm was back. Kurt sighed and went back to the book he was reading. But now, he'd lost his place and struggled to figure out where he had been between the two pages that the book was opened up to.

Had he read this line? He couldn't remember reading it. But then this sentence looked kind of familiar and it was further down the page than the first one. Kurt scanned the page again, trying to find the place he had left off at.

After a minute he gave up and decided to just read the whole page over again. Halfway down the page he realized he didn't remember a thing of what he'd been reading. So he started over. Was it just him or was it incredibly quiet?

Kurt sighed and closed the book. He hadn't realized how much he'd gotten used to hearing Sam's music box going all night long. Now that it wasn't, the silence was almost more distracting. Kurt put his book on his side table before he transported himself to the next room.

Sam's bedroom looked entirely too clean and organized. It looked like nobody had ever lived in the room. But then, he supposed that technically nobody had since Sam wasn't actually _alive. _The only personality in the entire room was the familiar music box sitting on the side table.

Kurt glanced at the clock sitting on the dresser only minimally filled with clothes. It was almost one in the morning. Why on Earth was he up so late? But then, why was Storm getting back to the Institute so late? The Professor hadn't mentioned where she was going, not that they had really pried very much. All of the students were too consumed with a different topic of prying.

With the help of the more computer savvy students, they had found numerous documents about Sam. Mostly unhelpful things like old report cards but still, you had to start somewhere right?

Kurt scratched his head in thought. He really ought to get to sleep; he had that test in Geography tomorrow. All those stupid climate codes. Might as well be alphabet soup for all the sense they made. But on the other hand he felt a little silly worrying about that when one of his friends was lying in the medical room like he was dead. Well, he was but not in the normal way…

"Oh man, I really need to get some sleep…" Kurt muttered before porting back to his room and falling a few feet to his bed. Kurt curled up under his covers and closed his eyes despite the fact that he couldn't make his brain stop long enough to fall asleep. "I wonder if this is what Sam feel's like all the time…" He muttered without opening his eyes. If it was Kurt could definitely understand the other teen's sour mood.

It was frustrating to not be able to sleep. Especially, when that was all that you really wanted to do…

A week later, Sam was still unconscious. Someone had been kind enough to close his remaining eye so that he looked as if he was simply sleeping instead of a coma. A thread-like whisper of old world French made Sam twitch. The first sign of life in almost a month.

**Sampson…** The whisper called. Sam blinked his incredibly dry eyes, noticing that he couldn't seem to feel or see through the one. Slowly, Sam lifted a hand and felt the thick bandage that was hiding his left eye. "_W-what happened…"_

**You were kidnapped remember?**

Sam thought for several minutes before everything fell into place in his mind. "_That __Bâtard…" _He muttered as he pushed himself into a sitting position. He shivered a bit as he felt his insides shift. "_Eeh, good thing I don't sleep…this would give me nightmares…"_

**Your friends are upstairs. They've been very worried about you.**

"_Worried?"_ Sam repeated as he swung his legs over the side of the bed. "_Why?"_

**You've been asleep for almost a month.**

Sam froze. "_A month?" _He repeated in awe.

**Oui. Look on the side table. **Sam did as he was told and was slightly bewildered to see his music box sitting there. Someone had been kind enough to keep his most important possession nearby. **They were very worried. **The voice repeated.

"_Je le vois." _Sam reached over and ran his fingers over the top of the wooden music box. Slowly he smiled a bit. "_I'll have to thank them." _He said getting to his feet and picking up the music box as best he could.

**The Professor is in his office talking with Storm, Logan is in the hangar, and the students are in the living room until dinner. **

_"What time is it?" _Somehow, talking to the voice didn't bother him as much as he thought it probably should.

**Almost seven.**

Sam nodded a bit and entered the elevator to go upstairs. As soon as the elevator opened he could hear the ruckus coming from down the hall. It sounded like the voice was right and that all the students were in the living room. Sam paused outside of the room. He could hear Kitty screeching something about 'giving it back' probably to Evan.

Sam smiled; it looked like everything was perfectly normal around the manor. "_Oui, give it back, she could wake the dead with all that screaming." _Sam said as he came into the room. Everything in the room stopped instantly. Then all of them surprised Sam by rushing over.

"You're awake!"

"We were so worried!"

"Are you okay?"

Sam's head spun at the barrage of questions. "_Y-you were worried? About moi?" _Despite the voice telling him that already it hadn't really registered until he saw the way his friends had dashed over with relief clear in their eyes.

"Of course we were!" Kurt said sounding a bit exasperated.

"When the Professor couldn't wake you up we had to wait. You've been unconscious for a month you know." Jean explained softly. "We were starting to wonder if you were ever going to wake up."

Sam frowned at that. "_The Professeur tried to wake me up?"_

"Indeed, I did." Professor X said from the doorway where he was smiling a bit. "I'm glad to see you finally awake though."

"_Merci, Professeur."_ Sam said fingering the edge of his music box. "_But I hope you realize I definitely need a new body now."_

The Professor sighed a bit. "I suppose it's unavoidable."

"_Oui."_


	33. A Plan

"_If I can get close to the hospital I can grab a body from the morgue and sneak out. That's how I used to get my bodies before I figured cities were too dangerous." _ Sam explained sitting at the counter in the kitchen. The rest of the x-men were scattered around the kitchen, listening with varying degrees of interest.

"How close do you need to be?" Storm asked curiously.

Sam shrugged a bit. "_The closer I am the faster I can get a body. I don't like spending too much time without one…I…I start to feel like I'm fading if I stay out too long." _Sam said.

The Professor raised an eyebrow. "How long have you stayed outside of a body?"

"_Uh, two hours. I-I think. It's hard to tell sometimes. Anyway, it shouldn't be a problem. Most people can't see me without a body anyway." _Sam said tapping his finger against the countertop absently.

"And what happens to your other body?" Logan asked from where he was leaning against the doorjamb.

"_Ah, well…d-do you remember about two years ago when that body was found outside of that hospital and nobody could figure out how it got there?" _Sam asked glancing around the room. A few people, the Professor included, nodded. "_That, uh, that was my fault. I needed to switch bodies and I got into a little trouble getting out again and well…I couldn't get back in time to move the other body. Turns out two days later I got my head cut off and I stopped hanging around in the city. I can't imagine the mess of paperwork it caused to have the same body show up two days after it was already in the morgue." _Sam said lowering his gaze to the counter again.

The Professor sighed a bit. "We can't have something like that happening again." He said after a minute. "Not without very dangerous questions being asked."

Logan grunted a bit in agreement. "How about someone goes with Ghosty, keep things runnin' smooth?"

The Professor nodded. "That sounds like a good idea."

"Oh! We'll go!" Evan said as he shot his hand in the air. "'Crawler can port us in and I'll keep watch!" He added grabbing Kurt's wrist and pulling it up into the air.

"No, Evan." Storm said firmly.

Evan looked completely flabbergasted. "But Auntie O-"

"Storm is right, Evan." The Professor interceded. "This is something that needs someone with more experience."

"Well, count me out." Logan said instantly. "I hate hospitals." He added in a low mutter.

Sam smiled a bit. "_I agree with Monsieur Logan. I would prefer it if we made this trip as fast as possible." _The last time Sam had tried to snag a body from a hospital he had gotten hopelessly lost in the lower sections and it took him an hour to find his way out again.

The Professor nodded. "It would be best, however, your image inducer is still broken and going in your current body without it would be…unwise." He said glancing over Sam's mutilated face.

"He could use mine." Kurt said pointing to his wrist. "Especially if you won't let me go too." He added mostly to himself.

"_Actually…Professeur, I think Kurt _should_ go. He could port me far closer and we could get out faster too." _Sam said. The idea really appealed to him. Taking over a dead body didn't take too much time but he would rather limit it as much as possible.

Professor X frowned, clearly not liking the idea of two students breaking into the local morgue. "Storm, I think you should escort Sam." He said after a moment of thought.

Storm nodded but Sam frowned. "_Professeur, please, I know it won't be dangerous. After all, how many hospital morgues have heavily armed staff? We can handle it." _He insisted.

"I still don't like the idea of only the two of you going." The Professor said with a shake of his head. "Too much can go wrong."

Suddenly Sam looked off to the side. "_Forge is here." _He said. A minute later they heard the door open and Forge call out a greeting from the main hall.

"How did you know that?" Scott asked bewildered.

Sam frowned a bit. "_I…I am not sure."_

"It must be the advancement of your powers." Xavier said. "I discovered they had advanced when I tried to awaken you. Though I didn't know how they advanced it seems you've gained a bit of precognition." He explained as Forge came into the kitchen with a cheerful hello.

_"Forge, can you help fix my image inducer so I can sneak into the hospital and get a new body?" _Sam asked after the other mutant had settled on a nearby stool.

Forge looked a little confused before shaking it off and smiling widely. "I can do you one better."


	34. Step One

"This is step one of getting you a permanent body." Forge said pulling a silver cylinder about the size of a thermos out of his bag and putting it on the counter.

_"What is it?" _Sam asked eyeing the plain-looking cylinder warily.

Forge held the thing up proudly as he began to explain. "It's a containment unit for your consciousness. See, with our tests earlier I figured out that the reason you couldn't possess inanimate objects was because they don't produce the same energy field that biological material does."

Sam frowned a bit. "_Uh, could you dumb this down a bit?"_

"Okay, it's like this." Forge said putting the cylinder on the counter again. "Everything biological gives off a very faint energy field…sorta like…an aura. This energy field isn't the same for inanimate objects like machines. This is why you can't posses them."

"What do you mean?" Jean asked curiously.

"Well, Sam has a slight energy field that is directly opposing the one that is given off by biological tissue." Forge explained. "So, when he enters a body the natural opposing energies keep him contained to that body. Like suspending a magnet between a bunch of other magnets with opposite poles."

The Professor raised an eyebrow at the analogy. "And this container is calibrated to work the same, I take it?"

"Yep." Forge agreed with a nod. "I still haven't figured out how to make an interface that you'll be able to use, though. This is just step one." He added to Sam.

"_Interface?"_

"Yeah, see, while you can possess this you probably can't do anything. There's no real way for your intentions to be read at the moment. So even if I were to make you a full sized body with this information you wouldn't be able to move or anything like that." Forge said. "But don't worry. I'm working on it." He added sounding vaguely excited.

"So, uh, how is this helpful for getting Sam a new body?" Evan asked picking up the cylinder and turning it over in his hands thoughtfully.

"_If I possess the cylinder I can be taken into the hospital without anybody possibly seeing me." _Sam answered, though his voice sounded a bit distant, as if he were distracted by something. "_It'll work."_ He added confidently.

Forge looked incredibly pleased with that and nodded in agreement. "You won't even need your image inducer to sneak in."

"Why don't you try it, Sam?" The professor suggested.

Sam nodded a bit and focused. Logan caught his body as it fell limp when Sam left it in a blaze of gold light. Sam moved forward a bit to try and possess the container but it seemed impenetrable. He wasn't sure how to get inside.

Suddenly Forge reached over and pressed a small button on the side and the top opened with an iris motion. Sam wasted no time, not sure how long the small hatch would be open.

Inside there was nothing but blackness. Strangely, Sam found it oddly comforting; it reminded him vaguely of when he would meditate. There wasn't really any sense of space or boundaries but he could clearly feel that he was secure. He actually rather liked the feeling and wondered idly if it was how sleeping felt for most people as he couldn't quite remember himself.

Sam reached out a bit and found invisible walls around him, keeping him inside the cylinder. There was nothing else though. Nothing that would disturb him. Perhaps that was the most comforting thing about it. Not only would he be left alone, nothing could hurt or attack him either. He didn't have to explain his fears or doubts, nor agonize over the unanswered questions in his mind. He didn't even have to pretend he was normal, nor attempt to control his moods. Despite being contained he felt strangely free.

Outside of the container a tiny light on the side, right next to the button, turned a bright red. Forge smiled a bit. "And there ya go. One contained Sam." He said holding the cylinder out in front of him.

"Can he hear us in there?" Kurt asked bending closer to the cylinder.

"I don't know…we'll have to ask him when he gets out." Forge answered with a shrug.

The professor shook his head a bit. "I doubt it. I can barely even sense his presence inside of the container." He said. "Can he get out should something happen?" He asked turning to Forge.

"There's supposed to be an emergency release. Don't know if it'll work or not till Sam tries to leave." He answered. "But opening the lid should allow him to leave easily. All he seems to need is a slightly weaker area of the field to enter and exit from."

"Is that, like, why he got out through his eyes?" Kitty asked pointing to her own eye.

Forge nodded. "Yeah, the energy field that we give off is weaker around our optical nerves. Probably because it's one of the few places in the body where the inside of our bodies is so easily accessible."

Logan grunted a bit. It also burned like all hell to have Sam enter your body that way, he'd found. "Anyway, now that Ghosty is in there someone should take him to the hospital."

The Professor nodded. "Yes, the sooner we get this done the better."

"Plus, there might be a chance the artificial field will fail and Sam will be thrown out." Forge commented. "This is all still experimental after all."


	35. Fail

**A/N: It's short I know but it's just one of those awkwardly lengthed bits that sorta bridge the story from one part to another...plus it's more Kurt time and everyone loves that! So sorry about the length, next should be longer.**

* * *

Kurt glanced around the sterile hallways of the local hospital quickly before dashing across to a small alcove. He took another quick glance out and noticed an orderly coming his way. He ducked back behind the corner and held his breath as the man in teal scrubs walked past. Kurt leaned out of the alcove and watched the man go before making a mad dash down the hall and ducking down a side hallway.

"Kurt…we have visitor passes." Scott pointed out as he walked past Kurt's hiding spot.

Kurt frowned a bit. "Come on, Man, get in the spirit!" He said before hurrying after Scott. "After all, how many times do we get to go on missions by ourselves?" He asked in a lower voice so that nobody in the empty hallway but Scott could possibly overhear.

"Stop messing around, Kurt." Scott said as he stopped to look at a sign on the wall. "We're here to get Sam downstairs and then port out of the hospital once he gets a new body. We _aren't_ breaking into a military base or anything."

Kurt's frown deepened and he folded his arms across his chest. "Lighten up, dude."

Scott shook his head a bit and pointed down the hall. "Stairs are this way." He said before walking in the proper direction. He steadfastly ignored Kurt, who was still playing commando and ducking behind bits of machinery every few seconds. Honestly why couldn't he take anything seriously.

They were just coming to the door of the stairwell when there was a popping noise from the messenger bag Scott was carrying. Scott and Kurt exchanged a look before a stream of gold practically exploded from the bag and shot off into the hospital. "What the-?"

"Was that Sam?!" Kurt demanded staring after the golden light.

Scott opened the bag and pulled out the silver cylinder. The tiny light on the side of the metal case had turned green. "I…think so…" He said. Kurt and Scott exchanged another long look before starting to run in the direction that the light had gone.

"Oh man, the Professor's gonna freak!" Kurt said as he looked around for any tiny glimmer of gold.

Suddenly Scott slid to a stop. "You keep looking, I'll go call the Professor." He said jerking his thumb back towards the lobby. "I'll be back in a minute." He added before dashing towards the payphones.

Kurt nodded and started running again muttering to himself in German. Apparently, Forge's warning of the system failing had jinxed them. "I'm never gonna get another solo mission after this…" He moaned as he took a hard left and almost slammed into a nurse.


	36. New Body

**A/N: Another in Sam's point of view. And I guarantee you didn't see this one coming!**

* * *

I suddenly felt heavy. Like I was made out of pieces of iron. None of my limbs would even twitch at my command. My chest and lungs were forced to expand only to collapse a moment later. It happened again and I was just able to make out the sound of air being forced through a small container. There was a steady beeping noise that was actually rather maddening after a moment.

I suddenly became aware of the pain spiking through my chest. Small needles digging into my chest every few seconds. I tried to open my eyes but they wouldn't no matter how hard I tried.

There was muttering nearby. Someone was talking in a low voice but I couldn't make any sense of the noise. Suddenly a hand wrapped around my jaw gently and I could _feel _tape being removed. I never felt things before. Something was pulled out of my throat from my mouth, making me almost gag and choke, though my muscles wouldn't move.

The pressure pushing my chest upwards faded and I fell even more still than before. After only a moment my chest started burning with pain. If felt like my ribs were beginning to crush my insides. I struggled for a second before I was able to force my lungs to expand and ease the crushing sensation. As soon as it did I let it go, finding it strangely unnatural.

But the burning crushing feeling returned. I forced myself to inhale air again to relieve the pressure. But I couldn't hold it for long and I soon was making an uneven rhythm before I realized that…I was _breathing._ I didn't breath!

The pain in my chest was easing every few seconds before I noticed it matched the annoying beeps. I had a pulse! I began to panic immediately. I forgot to take breaths and my lungs were burning as I tried to make the pulse, which had skyrocketed, to slow down so that it wouldn't hurt as much.

Something burned inside the veins of my arm, the vaguely familiar feel of chemicals being forced into the bloodstream. And slowly my panic ebbed away. The drugs were affecting me. That wasn't right. They weren't supposed to do that anymore. I was dead!

I stopped trying to ease the burning of my lungs and focused completely on my eyelids. Slowly I managed to open them just wide enough to see a bewildered doctor with thick glasses standing over me. I let my eyes close again as the burning became too much to handle and I had to take another breath. '_Dieu, what's happening to me?' _I thought as I focused only on finding a solid rhythm for breathing. It didn't feel right anymore and I was finding it very difficult to do.

"Amazing." I heard someone say. It sounded far away, or as if someone had stuffed cotton into my ears. "…this is remarkable."

"I thought there was no chance of recovery." Someone else said, sounding even further away than the first voice. "You said he'd never wake up! You said he was brain dead!"

"I can't explain it…it shouldn't be possible."

I spread myself as far as I could inside this new mind and found that nobody was there but me. Whoever it was that I was inside, must have been brain dead. It was the only way that I could slip into someone's body without being fought for control. But the body hadn't died yet.

Someone took a hold of my hand and I noticed how warm it felt. My own hand was like ice. "…can you hear me?" The person asked softly. "If you can hear me, try to squeeze my hand."

I abandoned my attempts to breath and focused instead on her command. I put every bit of energy I could find to moving my hand. My lungs were burning and my eyes began to water slightly before I was able to twitch my finger closer to the other person's hand. After that I quickly went back to focusing on breathing. Apparently, I could only do one thing at a time in this body.

I was highly tempted to stay in this body, where I could be possibly be alive again, but I knew that it would probably only cause problems. I stopped trying to breath and focused on feeling light and airy.

It was hard to focus on the feeling what with my lungs burning so fiercely. My body was just starting to fall away when I couldn't take the burning any longer and lost my concentration in favor of easing the need for air.

Suddenly one eye was pried open and a bright light was shone into it. The harsh light sent glass shards digging into my brain and I tried to close my eye, though I was utterly unable to. "What's happened to his eye?!" someone gasped loudly.

"I don't know." Someone different said.

I was actually able to manage a groan. This was not good. Apparently, my eyes had continued to appear the gold and green with slit pupil, which was most assuredly _not _what this boy had gone into a coma with. The last thing I wanted was to be the showcase of mutant existence.

"Perhaps, I can explain." A familiar voice interrupted suddenly.

_~Sam, are you there?~_

_~Professeur! I don't know what happened!~_

"Who are you?" Someone asked, sounding a rather angry.

"I am Professor Charles Xavier." The Professor introduced. "I'm afraid something rather…difficult to explain has happened."


	37. New Body Deux

**A/N: Yay for finals being over! Though the chapter is a bit short...I've been a bit drained lately...**

* * *

The Professor glanced around the hospital room carefully as he guided his wheelchair inside. He'd come as soon as Scott called him saying that the Containment Unit had malfunctioned and they lost Sam. He hadn't even been there five minutes when he sensed Sam's obvious distress.

Storm and Forge followed him into the room, looking just as wary as The Professor felt. Sam was still radiating confusion and…pain from where he was laying against the hospital bed. Professor X frowned a bit. Sam had never felt pain before. _~Sam, are you alright?~_

_~Non! I don't know what's going on! Where am I?~_

_~You're in the Intensive Care Ward of the hospital. The Containment Unit malfunctioned.~ _The Professor provided before turning to the doctor, nurse, and supervisor that were in the room. Professor X delved into their minds and quickly found the information he was looking for.

Three years ago a teenage boy had been dumped on the hospital front steps beaten to within an inch of his life. He never woke up and they had never been able to identify him. After a legal battle the courts had decided to stop life support. The best way to handle this, the Professor decided, was to simply pretend that Sam was meant to be in that body. It would limit the questions. He'd erase the memories of Sam's eye from the three of their minds to limit them further.

"I run a school for gifted youngsters outside of Bayville and Sampson here was a student there." The Professor said as Forge went over to better examine Sam's near comatose new body.

The supervisor frowned a bit. "And it took you three years to find out he was here?"

"I was under the impression he had returned home, and his family was under the impression he was still at school. But of course he was here." The Professor said smoothly. This was going to be very tricky to cover up since they'd already pulled life-support and yet Sam was still alive. He couldn't just come out and say 'he's a mutant!'

"We came as soon as we realized he was missing." Storm added stepping up next to the Professor.

_~Professeur, I can't get out of this body!~ _Sam cried out mentally. The heart monitor gave a jump from its spot next to the bed, echoing the fright that was radiating from Xavier's student.

Xavier turned his attention away from the supervisor as Storm answered a few questions with prefabricated answers. _~It's alright, Sam. Calm down. We'll figure out what happened, I promise.~_

"If you don't mind, we'd like to be alone with Sam for a few minutes." The Professor said, giving a mental command as well so that the three hospital workers agreed instantly. Once the door had closed the Professor turned his attention to Forge. "Do you know what happened?"

Forge shook his head. "Not really. It seems like he went to the nearest open body when the Containment Unit failed. He probably didn't have too much control over it."

"Sam?"

_~I don't know…It's like I was asleep and now I'm awake…Every time I try to break away from this body it hurts…~ _Sam replied.

The Professor's frown deepened and looked over the body Sam was apparently trapped in. The boy looked to be about seventeen, with grown out black hair and very pale skin from being inside for three years straight. Wires and thin tubes crisscrossed the body and connected him to monitors and machines that were scattered around the bed.

"And you can't get out?" The Professor asked aloud.

~_Non.~_

Forge frowned a bit and put a hand to his chin. "I don't have any idea why he wouldn't be able to." He said sounding troubled.

"Charles…" Storm called from where she had been looking at the chart at the foot of the bed. "He's been here for three years."

"Yes." The Professor agreed with a raised eyebrow. Then he remembered that he'd only known before her because he'd gotten the information from the supervisor's mind. Sometimes it was easy to forget that other people had to find information different ways.

"Hasn't it been three years since Sam died?" She asked looking up with a frown.

The Professor nodded. "Yes, it has." It didn't take but a moment for him to see what Storm was getting at. Sam's body had never been found after he went missing three years ago. The only reason they even thought he'd died was because the Professor had found the idea so strong in Sam's mind.

Xavier looked over the still body again. In Sam's mental landscape, his body had had black hair as well. Though this body was thinner and much paler that could just be because he was in a coma for three years. The Professor's eyes widened a bit. Could that explain why Sam couldn't leave? Was this his real body?


	38. Ominous Whispers

**A/N: Nothing to really say.**

* * *

It took almost two weeks before the doctors (with some mental persuasion from the Professor) allowed Sam to leave the hospital. He'd finally managed to get a hang of breathing again and he was now tackling speaking at the same time. He was still bed bound though, despite having been released from the hospital.

It was getting very boring being in bed. He was enjoying sleeping (even if the Professor insisted he wear a monitor incase he forgot to breath, which was annoyingly likely to happen). So to stave off boredom Sam had borrowed some books from the other students. Currently he was reading _Pandora, _which he'd borrowed from Rogue. He'd been certain after reading one of Kitty's books that he not borrow anything from the youngest of them again. He had not enjoyed that book about sparkles and stalkers all that much.

There was a loud _Bamf_ and Sam looked up from the book to see Kurt peeking around the corner of the medical room that the Professor had confined him to. "Ah, you are awake."

"_Oui._ I am." Sam agreed. Kurt blinked a bit in surprise at Sam's not-scratchy voice. It was the first time he'd heard Sam speak in a normal voice. In fact, other than the cat-like eyes, Sam looked and sounded completely normal. "Kurt?"

"Ah, sorry." Kurt said shaking his head a bit. "Storm wanted to know if you were hungry." He said coming into the room more fully.

Sam frowned a bit. "I am actually…" He said putting a hand to his stomach. "I'd forgotten what that felt like…"

"Well, come on! We'll get you something to eat!" Kurt said grabbing Sam's forearm and teleporting up to the dining room where everyone else had started to congregate. Sam glanced at the food on the table and frowned a bit. It had been so long since he'd eaten he wasn't at all sure what he should try. But before he could come to a decision a plate heaped with a bit of every dish on the table was set in front of him. "Eat up!" Kurt said filling his own plate before sitting down in the seat next to Sam.

"Ah…_Merci, _Kurt." Sam said trying to not sound apprehensive. He at least knew (from his late night run-in with Kitty) that he was allergic to milk so he wouldn't try anything with dairy in it and he wasn't all together certain if he should eat that much what with his body coming out of a three year coma. But still, the thought was nice.

Sam only took a few bites of mashed potatoes before his attention was drawn to the conversation that was taking place at the other end of the table. Something about Evan's make-up work from all the time he missed while on that mission with his Aunt.

"So how's your first food in three years, Sam?" Jean asked suddenly.

Sam looked up and saw that almost everybody was now looking at him. "Ah…good I suppose." He said awkwardly. "I, sort of, am not used to it anymore. So it feels kind of…odd."

"Once your stomach becomes used to food again you should be able to move onto more solid meals." Xavier commented from his seat at the head of the table. "Then you can have a much wider range of foods to eat. I'm sure it is just like your breathing in that you simply have to re-teach your body."

"_Oui_, I'm sure you're right, _Professeur._" Sam said pushing his food around a bit with his fork. He wasn't nearly hungry enough for all the food Kurt had given him even if he could have eaten all of it. Suddenly Sam felt something tugging at the back of his mind and he tilted his head a bit to the side. The voice from before was whispering to him.

"Sam? Are you alright?" Storm asked.

"_Oui…"_ He said though he sounded very distracted. He was trying to listen to the whisper. It was trying to tell him something. Something important.

Professor Xavier narrowed his eyes a bit as Sam continued to look off to the side. "Is it another vision?" He asked, remembering that Sam had been able to tell that Forge had arrived before the technopath had come into the mansion.

Sam shook his head a bit. "_Non._ It's like…someone's telling me something…" He said still focusing on the whisper. "Something is going to happen. Something with the Brotherhood." He said after a few more moments of listening to the whisper. "But I can't tell what."

"Well, anything with them can't be good." Scott said with a frown.

"It did seem rather urgent." Sam agreed finally turning back to the rest of the table.

"Don't worry, we can handle anything those Brotherhood thugs try." Scott assured. "They try anything and we'll be ready."

"They haven't done anything yet." Kitty protest.

"_Oui._ They may not have even thought to do anything yet. I can not tell when this will happen." Sam said. "It may be years from now for all I know."

"Not thought of it yet?" Kurt echoed.

Evan chuckled a bit. "That ain't strange for them."

Sam frowned. "Do not be so confident. I never get warnings of something _good_ happening. Nor do I get warnings of something ordinary. Just because you are always fighting them does not mean they are always the same threat." He warned sternly.

"Lighten up, dude." Evan said after a minute.

"_Ja_, it's only the Brotherhood."


	39. Anxious

**A/N: Wow...been a while since I've managed an update huh? Sorry about that...**

* * *

Forge looked up in surprise as Sam came into the workshop that the Professor had let him set up in the bottom levels of the institute while they were working on making Sam's mutations easier to handle. "Sam. What are you doing here?" He asked turning his hand back to its normal human form.

"I need to ask you to keep working on my…other body." Sam said gesturing to the metal skeleton that was on a nearby table.

"Why? I thought we were done with that since you found your real one." Forge said giving the other mutant a brief once over. Everything looked normal. Sam's body seemed to be perfectly healthy…if a little underweight and still extremely pale.

Sam sighed a bit and leaned against a clear spot on the worktable. "This body is not going to last me forever, Forge." He said still looking at the metal skeleton that Forge had been building. "Eventually it'll grow old and die. And I'll probably outlive it. Again. So when that happens…what am I supposed to do? Go back to grave robbing?" he asked.

"Very morbid, Sam." Forge said blandly.

Sam shrugged a bit. "Yeah, well…I'm a morbid kind of guy. I used to hang out in cemeteries and live in corpses remember?"

"But still, what you're talking about is _years_ off still. You've got an entire lifetime to worry about this sort of thing." Forge pointed out with a frown. "You should be enjoying living again."

Sam sighed a bit. "I don't know Forge…it just…doesn't seem like it's real yet. It feels wrong."

"What do you mean?"

Sam put a hand to his chest. "I have to concentrate to do things that should be involuntary. I have no reflexes…I've tested it. Everything I do I have to think about doing before it happens. And that's not the way living is supposed to be. This body…it feels more of a trap than anything else. I know I should be happy about it but I'm not. I can't be…"

"Sounds like you're having a depressive episode to me." Forge said putting a hand on Sam's shoulder in a friendly way.

Sam scowled at the technopath. "I am not having an episode."

Forge held up his hands in the standard defensive position. "Alright, but still…maybe you should talk to the Professor about this. I mean; I'll still work on the body for ya no problem. I didn't really want to give up on it anyway. But I'm not really the guy to go to when you're having doubts and bad feelings about something. I'm better with circuits and gears."

"Maybe you're right…" Sam said straightening a bit. "I just don't want him to give me that look."

"What look?"

"The 'the kid's gone crazy and I've got to deal with it' look. All my teachers used to give me that look before." He said with a bit of a scowl still on his face. "I hate that look."

Forge sighed a bit. "The Professor's not like that and you know it." He didn't say the next thought that came to mind, which was that Sam really was having an episode. He didn't want to make Sam even more annoyed than he already seemed to be. Forge didn't know at all the kinds of things to expect if Sam went into a full-blown depression.

Sam scoffed a bit. "Everyone's like that, Forge. Even you, though you don't want to admit it. You already don't want to deal with me because you think I've lost it." He accused, pointing a finger at the other mutant.

"I don't think you've lost it." Forge denied.

"You do and you're trying to think of a way to get rid of me." Sam stated. "Well, fine, play with your stupid toys." He said before turning on heel and almost storming out of the room.

As soon as the door closed, Forge let out a low whistle. He'd never seen Sam in the middle of a mood swing before and he wasn't all together certain he ever wanted to see it again. It was apparently very difficult to not say something wrong to him. But still, he hoped Sam would take his advice and go talk to the Professor.

Sam as it turns out didn't go to the Professor, but spent several hours pacing inside of his bedroom, muttering to himself in very fast French. The Professor went to him instead. "Sam? You seem rather upset." He said from the doorway of the room.

"I am not upset." Sam denied without breaking his pacing.

"Alright, then can I ask: what's on your mind?" The Professor asked in an appeasing way.

Sam let out a noise of frustration before throwing his hands in the air. "This body." He said gesturing to himself. "It is not right. I cannot explain it but it just does not feel right."

"You have to give it time. You were in a coma for three years, Sam. Already you have made remarkable progress." The Professor pointed out.

"I know!" Sam snapped. "People keep telling me that! I'm not stupid; I got it the first time. But like I said I can't explain it! I just _know_ something is not right." He said. As he spoke and got more upset the thicker his French accent became until it was even heavier than Kurt's German accent.

The Professor frowned a bit. "What would you like to do then, Sam?"

"I don't know." Sam admitted. "I'm just…frustrated!"

"Yes, I can see that." The Professor said resting his chin on his folded hands. "Perhaps you are thinking about it too much. You should take some time to relax and readjust to living. After all, it has been quite a long time since you've been able to do many of the things you've been doing lately."

Sam frowned a bit. "I would but I cant." He said as he returned to pacing the length of the room. "I try not to think about it but I always end up doing so anyway."

"If you were feeling like this before your mutation activated what would you have done then?" The Professor asked thoughtfully.

Sam shrugged a bit. "Probably be poked with needles full of sedatives." He muttered. "Or…if it 'wasn't too bad' then Eli and Eva would force me to go out with them. I still don't know what 'wasn't too bad' meant. Like they had a _damné_ scale or something." He added.

"Then might I suggest joining the others for a bit to take your mind off of everything?" The Professor suggested. "I'm sure they will be more than happy to find something to distract you."

Sam paused in his pacing and bit his lip, looking unsure. "Really?"

"Of course."

"I…suppose I wouldn't mind a distraction…" Sam said reluctantly.


	40. New Beginnings

**A/N: School started again. I wish I had been able to get more chapters up over break but my brain just wouldn't cooperate with me. Sorry for the shortness of the chapter. So far this story has been in between the first and second season. Next chapter we enter into the second season of the show. (I've noticed an error in one of my past chapters where I made a reference Risty...can we say oops?) **

* * *

"I've got it!" Kitty said happily. "You should come with us to watch Jean's game!"

"Game?" Sam echoed. "What game?"

"My soccer game tomorrow." Jean supplied from her spot on the loveseat. "You're more than welcome to come, Sam."

"Ja, come with us. It'll get you away from the new kids coming in tomorrow too." He added in a low tone.

Sam gave a start. "What new kids?" He asked in surprise.

"Oh, that's right…you were still in the hospital when we were told. The Professor has arranged for a whole new batch of recruits to come to the institute. He asked us to help out with teaching them the basics since we've had more training." Jean explained. "They're due to get here tomorrow."

"Ah…I see." Sam said uncomfortably. "Perhaps you are right, Kurt. The game sounds much more appealing than meeting so many new people." He said almost shuddering at the very thought of it. He was nowhere near comfortable in a large group. His mutation, although it seemed to have reverted mostly to its dormant phase, was still easy to see in his bizarre eye color.

The Professor came into the room with Storm right behind him. "Sam, I wanted to talk to you for a moment."

"Is something the matter, _Professeur?"_ Sam asked worriedly.

"No, nothing's the matter. It's just now that you have recovered a living body it would be far easier for you to go to school with the rest of the students." The Professor said. "I wanted to know what you thought of the idea."

Sam hesitated. On one hand the idea of being a normal student was immensely appealing but on the other the last fiasco was still fairly fresh in his mind. "I don't know…what if something happens again?"

"It's not like you'll lose your hand again." Kurt said jumping up to perch on the armrest of Sam's seat. "And the rest of us will be there in case something happens." He added.

"We even have, like, a new principal now so it's not like you'll have to worry about that." Kitty added.

Sam glanced between the people in the room. Kitty and Kurt were looking very eager at the idea while Jean, the Professor and Storm were waiting far more patient for him to come to a decision. Sam tilted his head to the side a bit as he heard the voice he was now used to hearing whisper its advice to him. **Go, Sampson.** Sam sighed a bit and nodded. "Alright…I'll try it again."

"I'm glad, now. We have something else for you." The Professor said gesturing to Storm who was holding a white clothes box that you would get from a department store.

Storm handed it to Sam who was frowning a bit in confusion. "We thought it was time you received your own suit instead of the trainee ones." She explained as Sam slid the top off to reveal a mass of black leather. "And there's some new clothes for you upstairs that should fit your new body better than your current ones." She added with a small smile.

Sam pulled the suit out carefully and examined it. It turned out to be a fairly normal looking suit except for a long coat that went over it and included a hood like the one that he had on his cloak. The coat fastened over his suit with white buckles that formed (what else?) X's. The boots had X straps at the top that he supposed kept them tight against his calves.

He realized after a moment of staring at it in vague shock that he should say something. "Thank you. I wasn't…expecting anything like this." He admitted fingering the tough fabric again.

"It's our pleasure." The Professor assured him.

"Though we don't usually have our students wearing hoods like that we thought you'd appreciate it." Storm added pointing to the hood.

Sam smiled a bit and nodded. "I do. Thank you." He said again. It felt odd getting a suit designed just for him. Like he was now officially a member of their team. Maybe that was what Kurt and Evan were trying to get at with the codename thing. It didn't seem quite so silly anymore. Carefully he folded the suit and put it back in the box, he'd try it on later.

"Are you alright?" The Professor asked. "You're very quiet."

Sam nodded. "I'm fine…just…surprised I suppose. I wasn't expecting anything like this." He didn't feel the need to elaborate on the comment. He figured they understood in a way. It was almost like with his living body and new suit and going to school again, like he was starting over finally.


	41. To save or not?

Sam glanced over at his friends as they cheered Jean on as she ran down the field, kicking the soccer ball in front of her and dodging around several players in the opposing team's blue jerseys. When the ball hit the net everyone burst into even more cheers. There would be no chance for the other team to recover with only a few more seconds on the clock. Sam got up and followed Scott, Kurt, Kitty, and Evan as they headed down to the field.

He'd never really been into sports but he had enjoyed the game, maybe not to the level of the others, but he had. And it had the added bonus of getting out of the way so that Sam didn't have to meet the new students. They'd been arriving just as the group of them had been leaving.

Scott pushed himself through the crowd to get to Jean. "Jean, you were fantas-"

He was cut off by the jock Duncan who stepped between them and gave Jean a hug. "Hey Jean, way to go! You stomped them like bugs on a sidewalk." Sam made a face at the analogy.

Kitty scoffed a bit. "That Duncan, he knows just what a girl wants to hear." She said sarcastically.

"Oh yes, bug stomping has always been the epitome of romance." Sam muttered folding his arms over his chest.

"Heh, thanks Duncan." Jean said as the rest of the team moved past to leave the field. "Yeah, everyone played really well today."

"Jean, we're taking off." Scott said clearly not appreciating Duncan's interruption. "You riding or walking?" He asked putting his hands in his pockets casually though there was still a faint scowl on his face.

Jean looked a bit embarrassed. "Oh Scott, uh, that's okay. Duncan is driving me home." She explained gesturing to the blonde next to her.

"Yeah. Hey Summers, maybe we'll even get _lost_ along the way." Duncan said putting an arm around Jean who did seem to have heard his comment.

"With you driving it's pretty much expected." Scott replied as the two of them headed towards the other end of the soccer field.

"Bah, what does she see in that jerk?" Sam muttered. "It's guys like Duncan Mathews that used to glue my locker shut every morning back in Tioga."

"What about you Evan? Walking or driving?" Scott asked with a frown.

"I got my board." Evan said holding his skateboard up. "I'm heading to the skate park, catch ya later." He added before running off in the same direction that Jean and Duncan had gone in. "Tell Auntie O I'll be back before dinner alright?" He called back without breaking his stride.

"_Ja,_ We'll tell her!" Kurt replied.

In a matter of minutes Sam, Kitty, Kurt, and Scott were in Scott's car and no sooner had they started across town then they were stuck in traffic. For the most part Sam zoned out as they inched their way along the road. He was vaguely aware of Kitty and Kurt arguing about some music ground as he looked out of the side of the convertible.

Then Kitty calling Scott grabbed at his attention. "Scott, hello?" She said dragging the hello out a bit.

"Huh?" Scott asked before a horn blared out behind him. "Whoa!" He jerked the wheel to one side so that he moved into the other lane just as the car sped past them. Several police cars were following, sirens and lights going on all of them.

"What's his hurry?" Kurt asked as they continued to speed away.

"I don't know. Maybe it's the twelve police cars on his tail." Kitty said as yet another police car rushed past. "Just a hunch." Kurt looked over the back of the convertible and unbuckled his seatbelt as he twisted around and stood up to better see over the other cars in front of them. There was even a helicopter in the sky; whatever this guy had done it was warranting a lot of attention.

**School bus.** Sam straightened a bit. "School bus?" He echoed the whisper in his head.

"What school bus?" Kitty asked. "There's no school bus."

"Yes there is." Kurt said just as a school bus nearly got slammed into by the escaping car. The car swerved and took the on ramp to the highway overpass that passed over that section of road.

The police cut the driver off as he tried to take the highway overpass and the driver swerved again. His car slammed through the protective railing and teetered precariously on the edge. Even from the distance they were Sam could see the airbag had deployed. The car was directly over top of where the school bus had stopped after nearly hitting the car just a minute earlier. "Oh no!" Scott exclaimed getting to his feet inside of the car.

They quickly got out of the car and ran a few feet down the road before Scott abruptly stopped. "We have to do something!" Kurt said.

"No!" Scott said putting his arm out to stop Kurt's headlong rush. "There's too many news cameras."

The car shifted and several pieces of concrete hit the top of the school bus. "But what about those kids?" Kitty demanded.

Sam's head shot up. "The car!" Not even a second later the car lost it's balance and started to slide off the overpass.

"Kurt!"

"I'm on it." Kurt said as he teleported.

As soon as Kurt grabbed the driver of the car, Scott lowered his sunglasses and let out a beam of red energy that slammed into the top of the falling car. The roof of metal twisted and a giant hole was punched through but it was deflected enough to not even touch the school bus. The kids streamed out of the school bus as Kurt pushed the driver of the car out into the open before quickly teleporting away.

Kurt appeared over where Kitty, Sam, and Scott were standing by a coffee shop. Kitty glanced around quickly before grabbing them and phasing through the side of the building. They ended up in a storage room. Sam sighed a bit. "So much for a distraction." He muttered rubbing his forehead.

"What? You didn't find that distracting?" Kurt said pointing his thumb in the general direction of the accident.

"At least no one was hurt." Kitty said.

"Come on. Let's get back to the Institute." Scott said.

They quickly found their way back to the car and hurried through traffic as best they could to get back to the institute. When they finally got there they all grabbed their bags before getting out of the car. "Uh, maybe we shouldn't mention what happened to anyone. You think?" Kurt asked handing Kitty her purse.

"Well, we could just keep quite about it for a while. Like, say forever." Kitty agreed.

Sam blanched a bit at the sight of Storm, Wolverine, and the Professor all waiting for them at the top of the steps. "Somehow…I think it's a bit late for that."

"Or we could blame it all on Kurt." Kitty added quickly.

Kurt's head snapped around. "Hey!"

"Scott's most senior." Sam said edging away from the sunglass-wearing mutant. "I say we let him explain."

"I second that!" Kurt said quickly.

"How about you three head towards the Danger Room for a few _simulations_." Logan growled out pointing over his shoulder towards the Institute doors. It was very clearly not a suggestion.

Kurt, Sam, and Kitty sighed a bit but did as they were told. Wolverine was not someone you went out of your way to disobey. "Man, we do something good and get extra Danger Room sessions for it." Kurt muttered as they crossed the living room. "Talk about mixed messages."

"Let us just hope that it is only one or two simulations, _mon ami._" Sam said.

"Yeah they can't, like, really be mad at us." Kitty said.

"Unless we were seen…" Sam added grimly.


	42. Morning Rush

**A/N: It took me a while to figure out who I was going to make room with Sam and school is taking up a lot of free time. But this chapter is pretty long for me so I hope that makes up for it somehow.**

* * *

_Screams of both men and animals filled the air. The coppery scent of spilled blood seemed to drench him as he shifted his grip on the battle standard he was carrying. The voice in his head was whispering to him again, urging him to watch the left flank. That was where some of the dogs were waiting in ambush. He turned his honey colored eyes to the area the whispers were warning of. "There is an ambush over in those trees." He said pointing with one armored hand._

_The men around him looked over in that direction and, though a few scoffed in disbelief, sent out the orders for a counter ambush to be set up. He turned his attention back to the battle and recognized one of his few friends fighting down below. Swords clanged loudly, echoing off armor and rocks as men bellowed war cries and charged heedlessly into the fray._

_The whisper warned of an arrow and he took a step to the side just in time to avoid the iron arrowhead that would have skewered his left eye. As it was it only just grazed his ear, sending short brown locks of hair fluttering in the temporary gust. He looked out across the battlefield for the archer that had nearly hit him but he couldn't see a single bow in the sea of swords, axes, and shields. Most of the horses that the other army had brought were already gone, either killed amidst the recklessly wielded weapons, or having fled once their masters were gone. "The day is ours." He said, echoing the whispered words in his mind._

_"Not until the last of them are no longer fighting is the day ours, Maid." He turned to look at the man who spoke, frowning a bit at the slight of title. He recognized the man and wrote it off as the thing he would expect from such an old fool. He turned his attention back to the battlefield and raised a hand to his neck where a modest crucifix hung under his borrowed armor. _

_"I merely say what I am told from on high." He replied before casting a look up towards the cloudy sky and uttering a very quick prayer of thanks. Most of the soldiers with him muttered the 'amen' with him but very few partook in the entire prayer. He sighed a bit and tucked the crucifix back under his armor. How had they gotten so high in the ranks without showing the proper respect?_

_Suddenly, there was a particularly vicious scream and he turned his eyes down and saw a bloodied man rushing up the hill towards them. He reacted on more instinct than anything, swinging the base of the standard up to slam into the charging man's jaw. The man flew back and rolled down the hill where he lay dazed. _

_"I told you. Not until the last of them are dead or captured is the day ours." The general said._

_"The day will be ours." He said simply._

Sam woke up and blinked, trying to bring his room into focus. That had been the strangest dream he'd had since he could sleep and therefore dream again. He slowly sat up and rubbed his face. He supposed it could be worse. He could have been _in_ the fight instead of watching it. But what was truly strange was that he still heard the voice in his dream.

Slowly he looked out the window and frowned. It was supposed to be his first day back in school and it was apparently very early as the sun was just starting to rise. With a sigh he got out of bed and grabbed his shower things before heading to the bathroom. He didn't mind waking up early too much, at least this way he had plenty of time to take a nice long shower.

He'd become slightly OCD about showering since he'd arrived at the Institute. Now that he had one he didn't have to feel dirty or smell bad like he had while he was taking refuge in the cemetery.

After his shower Sam got dressed in his usual outfit of tan cargo pants and two shirts, one left unbuttoned because he didn't care enough to button it. Of course, now that he wasn't quite as unhealthily thin it didn't matter as much if he wore the second shirt, but he felt more comfortable with multiple layers to hide in should the need arise.

If Sam remembered correctly today was going to have a large assembly in which the new principal was going to be formally introduced. Later on there was going to be a particularly large soccer game that Jean was playing in. Chances were he'd end up going.

Just as Sam was coming out of the bathroom he heard loud music turn on a few doors down. Someone's radio alarm was going off. From the particularly loud screaming quality of it Sam guessed it was one of the new kids as none of the others would be listening to music like that. "Tabitha!" Someone shouted and Sam nodded a bit as his suspicions were confirmed.

"_Mon dieu_… they are so loud." Sam muttered before going into his room and putting his stuff back in its proper spot. He glanced over at the second bed that had been brought in. He hadn't gotten to really know his new room mate all that well, but then Sam had been trying fairly well to avoid most of the new students. If he remembered correctly, his new roommate's name was Roberto and his powers had something to do with the sun or something similar.

Sam rolled his eyes a bit and glanced at the clock. It was nearly time for the morning rush. Almost as soon as he thought that several doors slammed open and closed and Sam heard Rogue slamming her fist on the door and demanding Kitty 'wait her turn' and 'stop phasing through people'. Roberto groaned a bit and rolled over, burying his head under his pillow. Apparently he wasn't much of a morning person.

Sam pulled on his sneakers and made his way downstairs. Breakfast wasn't ready yet but being downstairs was infinitely better than listening to the morning arguments for the five hundredth time. "Good morning, Sam." Storm greeted as he walked past her.

"_Bonjour."_ He replied hurrying down the remaining steps and towards the kitchen. Logan was sitting at the bar with his usual mug of coffee and newspaper. "_Bonjour Monsieur _Logan." He said taking a seat on the window seat.

Logan muttered a greeting of his own before taking another gulp of coffee. "Get tired to listening to that racket, Ghosty?"

"_Oui,_ I am glad I woke early today." Sam said glancing over the front lawn of the institute. "It is even worse with more people."

"I'm surprised you slept at all." Logan said flipping the pages of his paper.

"Well, I do have to now that I am…not dead." Sam said awkwardly. "I…I think I'm going to go make sure I have all my things for school." He added before quickly hurrying off. There was still a little while before breakfast so Sam hurried up the stairs to gather his things since he was well aware how easily breakfast could take longer than expected at the Xavier Institute.

Sam walked into his room and immediately adverted his eyes to the far wall. "_Dieu,_ do you have to walk around half naked?" He demanded.

"I thought you were already gone!" Roberto said pulling on his shirt before running his hand through damp hair. "How was I supposed to know you were coming back in?" He asked.

Sam just shook his head and went to where he'd left his things for his first day back at school. "When's breakfast again?" Roberto asked.

"In about five minutes." Sam answered stuffing several books along with an array of doctors' notes in case he went into an episode into his black backpack. "I suggest you stop primping because breakfast tends to run for a while. You won't have time to get ready afterwards."

"I'm not primping." Roberto protested as he pulled on his shoes.

"You were when I came in." Sam pointed out heaving his bag over one shoulder. He barely heard Roberto yell that he 'was not' as he left the room and hurried downstairs. Mentally he added 'rushed mornings' to his things he didn't like about going back to school.


	43. The Assembly

**A/N: **Short chapter...but hopefully once summer break happens I'll have more time to write...

* * *

Sam studied the gym with a bit of trepidation. He really, really, did not like large gatherings. Of course, now that his voice didn't rasp every time he spoke his school experience had much improved. The only thing he'd had to excuse was his eyes and luckily most people assumed they were those Halloween contacts and left it at that. It took a moment, but Sam spotted Scott sitting high in the bleachers.

The brotherhood boys were standing by the double doors to the gym with their typical sour look on their faces. Jean was sitting a few rows down from Scott with that jerk Duncan.

A few more minutes of looking and Sam saw Rogue sitting beside a strange girl he didn't recognize with dyed purple hair. At least someone was making friends outside of the institute, Sam thought as he chose a seat near the end of the bleachers. He hoped this assembly wouldn't last too long so that he could get back to being bored in class instead of being bored in the gym. "And now, everyone, lets give a warm Bayville High welcome to our new principal, Mr. Edward Kelly." One of the teachers said as the new principal stood up. He was a middle-aged man with a slightly receding hairline and glasses. There were cheers of welcome when all of a sudden the entire building started to shake.

Sam grabbed the side of his seat as the building shook and made Mr. Kelly fall to the gym floor. Sam glanced over and sure enough, Lance Alvers was the cause. A frown creased Sam's face. The shaking stopped and Sam noticed a few words between Kitty and Lance before it returned with twice the intensity.

There was so much shaking that the scoreboard's supports failed and it started plummeting towards the floor and Mr. Kelly who was directly under it. Sam instinctively jumped up from his seat. Before the sign could hit the principal however, it took a sudden detour and careened off to one side, hitting nobody. Sam glanced around and saw Jean opening her eyes from concentrating her powers.

Mr. Kelly got to his feet with a few huffs. "Since when is Bayville on a fault line?" Sam retook his seat as the students laughed at the not quite funny but tension-removing joke. "Anyway, I want to welcome you all to a new semester. I know filling the vacuum left by the previous principal Ms. Darkholme will not be an easy job. But it's a challenge to which I'm looking forward. And that leads me to what I hope will be the theme of the coming semester: meeting new challenges. You know, most of us go through life thinking we're not so different from the people around us and that's a mistake."

Mr. Kelly took the microphone and took a few steps away from the podium. "I'll wager that everyone of us here has some unique talents. Some special gifts. Some ability that makes us standout from the crowd. However, that said, I want your second priority to be…supporting the girls soccer team for the championship!" The entire crowd burst into a rally of cheers in agreement. "And that means I want every one of you to turn out tonight for the big pregame rally! Can we count on you?" There were even more cheers.

Sam sighed and rested his cheek on one hand. "I would have to join a sports school…" He muttered. The assembly didn't last too much longer thankfully, and it was back to class. History in Sam's case. And a pop quiz as it turns out. At least it was on a subject Sam was familiar with. The Hundred Years War.

Almost the second the quizzes were turned in the bell dismissing school went off and Sam practically bolted out of the room. No sooner had Sam left the classroom than Kurt and Evan almost jumped him in the hall. "Yo, Dude! Where were you today?"

"What do you mean?" Sam asked. "I was here all day."

"We didn't see you at the assembly!" Kurt said.

"Oh, I was in the front row…" Sam supplied awkwardly. He hadn't thought that the two of them had intended for Sam to sit with them.

Evan and Kurt exchanged a look. "Well, you're so sitting with us at the rally." Evan announced.

"I am?"

"_Ja._" Kurt answered. "We'll save you a seat!"

"I wasn't even going to go though…" Sam said rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "I'm not much for sports, you know."

"Dude! You have to go!" Kurt said energetically. "Everyone's going to be there! Even the professor!"

Sam sighed at the two practically beaming smiles directed at him. "I don't have a choice here do I?" They shook their heads, still smiling widely. Sam sighed again. "Well, I suppose I'll be going then…"

"Great!" Kurt exclaimed happily before dragging Sam down the hall, Evan grabbing Sam's other arm to prevent escape. It seemed as if Kurt and Evan were going to make Sam enjoy living again if whether he wanted to or not.


	44. Homework

**A/N: **Summer break has just started so this is a minor filler to get me back in my writing groove...

* * *

"Sam! You have to help me!" Kitty said phasing through the door to burst into the room he now shared with Roberto.

"Kitty!" Sam scolded throwing a towel in her face so that Roberto had a chance to pull his pants back up and avoid an awkward situation. "Knock before you phase!" Sam ordered getting up from his reclined position on his bed. He grabbed her by the arm and led her back out as Roberto muttered under his breath in fast Spanish.

"Sorry! I forgot you have a roommate and you never change in the open…" Kitty said with a blush, indicating she had seen something she probably shouldn't have.

Sam rolled his eyes. "What is it, Kitty?"

"The Professor said we couldn't go to the rally until we had, like, all our homework done." Kitty said holding up a handful of slightly crumpled papers. Sam nodded; he recalled the rule quite clearly as he had just finished his own homework so that Kurt and Evan could drag him off to the rally. "Well…I really need some help with mine." She said handing over several sheets of paper. "You speak French it should be, like, a snap if you help me."

Sam glanced down at the French 102 worksheets noticing several spots that had been erased several times and turned the spot rough and off color. "You want me to help you with your French homework?" Sam said looking over the papers. "But it's so easy…"

"Says the guy who's half French!" Kitty snapped. "Just, like, help me out here Sam! Please?" She asked clasping her hands together and jutting out her lower lip in a pout. Sam recoiled a bit from the face but Kitty only leaned closer. "It's not like I'm asking you to do it for me…" She added sweetly. "Just help a little."

Sam sighed heavily and gestured for Kitty to follow before walking down the hall. Kitty squealed and threw herself at Sam, nearly knocking him off his feat. "Hey! Watch it!" He said grabbing the railing. "I would prefer to stay alive this time around _merci_."

"Sorry." Kitty said sheepishly.

"_Désolé_." Sam said.

"Huh?"

"In French. Sorry is _désolé_." Sam clarified. "If you're going to speak French at least learn a few of the basic words. It will make this much easier. Besides…it was on the worksheets somewhere and you got it wrong." He said waving the papers at her from over his shoulder.

"Oh." Kitty said in surprise. "Deesole?"

Sam sighed and shook his head at the butchery of the word but he suppose it was close enough for high school purposes. Kitty would just have a horrible accent, but that was rather unavoidable. "Come on, we can work in the living room." He said leading the way down the hall and sitting next to the coffee table.

It was only half an hour before Sam was regretting agreeing to help Kitty with her French homework. The girl just seemed to have no sense of the language at all. It didn't help that she apparently couldn't roll her r's. Or at least, couldn't manage to do it when needed. "Kitty, it's not that difficult."

"Stop saying that! It's hard alright! Not everyone learned this as kids." She said with a scowl.

Sam sighed in exasperation. She'd been using that excuse for the past fifteen minutes and it was starting to get on his nerves. "Kitty, how do you think I learned it as a child?"

"I don't know." Kitty said erasing another of her wrong answers furiously.

"I lived in Paris with _mon grand-pére_. He made me do all of these same silly worksheets. Well, maybe not the same…but close enough." Sam said pointing to the papers several times. "You think I wanted to learn this? _Non_. I wanted to go outside and play with my friends. You have to start somewhere, Kitty. And this is just the basics."

"Well the 'basics' are, like, really hard." Kitty muttered brushing the eraser leftovers off her paper.

"You're almost done." Sam said gesturing to the last section of the worksheets. "This is the easiest section yet. You just have to fill in the word that matches the pictures. It should be the same pictures as were in your book to begin with."

Kitty scowled. "This is so boring." She muttered.

Sam rolled his eyes. "When it is easy you say: 'it's boring' but when it's harder you say: 'it's too hard'. Can you not just answer the questions and be done with it?" Sam asked.

"Fine. I will." Kitty said haughtily.

Sam fixed her spelling on a few words before deeming the worksheets complete and correct and getting to his feet. He glanced at the clock. It wasn't long before the rally was due to begin and he still needed to get ready. He hurried up the stairs and into his room. He quickly grabbed a change of clothes and dashed into the bathroom.

After a quick shower, one of the fastest he'd ever taken at the institute, he got dressed and threw his dirty clothes into the hamper in his room. Just as the clothes hit the bottom of the hamper, two sets of hands grabbed the teen around each arm and started dragging him backwards. "Ah! Let me go!"

"So you can ditch us again?" Evan asked.

"No way dude! You're having fun with us!" Kurt said cheerfully.

"I already said I was going!" Sam argued. "I can walk on my own you know."


	45. Faith

**A/N: Okay, I MUST apologize here. This chapter was never even supposed to exist but I can't seem to find my DVDs of the show to write the actual rally so I had to improvise. It does introduce a part of Sam's character that I've briefly mentioned before but haven't had a chance to go into yet. His faith in God. Now, I'm personally not very religious but I'm not Sam and Sam is currently in the midst of a crisis of faith which is why he hasn't spoken about God much before this chapter. In my original drafts Sam was a devote Catholic and prayed every night and so forth but then I changed that when I decided to turn this story into a more mystery based one where Sam couldn't remember much of his previous life. It didn't make sense to keep that single factor if he couldn't even recall his name when they find him now does it? Sorry /end tangent. I just wanted to let you all know this chapter was sort of thought of on the fly and while I wanted to make it longer I just couldn't seem to do it.**

* * *

The rally was nothing short of a disaster. Apparently, the brotherhood boys decided to 'out' mutant kind and it resulted in the entire gym being destroyed along with the new mascot. Luckily, the professor was able to wipe the memory from everyones' minds and a magnetic interference prevented the television cameras from transmitting the images of their powers. Sam's voices informed him it was someone named 'Magneto's doing. But still, it had been far too close a call.

The next morning, Sam was in no mood to get up. In fact, he was in no mood to get out of bed. He simply lay there hidden under covers and pillows with his music box playing. Roberto said it crept him out and spent the whole day avoiding his room and therefore Sam at all costs.

It wasn't until well past lights out that Sam got out of bed. He pulled his cloak on and the hood down over his face and made his way through the silent institute. Under his arm he had his music box cradled safely but he didn't even bother to pull on his shoes to protect his feet. He didn't care he just had to get out of the room and be by himself for a bit.

He was sort of missing the peace and quiet of the cemetery. He could think and brood to his heart's content there. Of course, he would still be possessing dead bodies but he could handle that. At least there he didn't have to worry about being exposed as a mutant.

He wandered around the grounds for a bit until he found a rock near the cliffs that he rather liked. He opened his music box again and let the familiar tune mix with the sound of waves and wash over him soothingly. Something about the rally yesterday had set him off. It had been strangely frightening to think that his 'powers' would be revealed. He wasn't sure why. But being fingered like that had echoed painfully and made him restless.

**Safe**

Sam frowned at the whispered word. He didn't feel 'safe'. He felt increasingly vulnerable. He pulled his legs up against his chest and rested his chin against them as he stared out across the water. "But…they almost knew about me. And the others." He muttered in French.

**But they don't, Sampson.**

"It scares me." Sam said still staring out at the obsidian waves. It didn't strike him as odd to talk to the whispers anymore. They were as much a part of him as his music box was. "If they know…they will hurt us. They always hurt what they don't understand."

**Your friends will not allow that.**

"What if they can't stop it?"

**Have faith. God would not have led them to help you if they could not do so.**

Sam closed his eyes and sighed. It had been a long time since he'd thought like that. Three years in fact. He had lost his faith along with his memories and the crucifix he always wore. The hospital hadn't found one on him so he had no idea what had happened to it. "I am not so sure anymore."

**You will be sure again one day.**

"How do you know?"

**Have I ever been wrong?**

"I suppose not." Sam muttered before reaching over to rewind his music box. He did miss having that unshakable belief but he couldn't find it in him anymore. He missed having one thing to be certain about. "Perhaps I am too crazy for God to love." Sam mused aloud.

**God has granted you these gifts, Sampson. He would not have done so if he didn't love you.**

"I wish I could be certain." Sam said turning his face up to look at the stars. "But somehow the reassurance of the voices in my head are not that convincing."

**Then ask Kurt.**

"Kurt?" Sam echoed in confusion. "What does Kurt have to do with anything?"

**Ask and find out.**

Sam frowned at the lack of answer. Usually the voices were far more straightforward than that. He rarely had to pry to get them to tell him things. They were being almost maddeningly unhelpful tonight and he was in no mood for it. He pushed his thoughts to the side and looked out across the ocean again. He wasn't sure why the idea of exposure frightened him so but it did and that was all that mattered at the moment.


	46. Mania

**A/N: Okay, I've wanted to do this chapter for a while and finally got around to it.**

* * *

Sam took his time to wander back to the institute but when he finally arrived he noticed several people were running around looking rather frantic. Someone must have seen him coming though and everyone suddenly stopped and ran over to him. "Sam! Where were you?" Scott asked.

"I went for a walk." He answered, a bit confused.

"A walk?" Scott echoed.

Sam nodded a bit and clutched his music box closer to his chest. "I was having trouble sleeping so I went for a walk. I did not think that it would be a problem." He muttered.

"It's not," Jean assured stepping forward. "It's just we were worried about you. Next time if you'd leave a note we wouldn't worry so much."

"Sorry." He muttered, lowering his eyes to the grass. Without another word he hurried off to the living area of the institute, making sure to pull his hood up over his face. His mind was still focused so much on what the voices had told him that morning he didn't want to deal with anybody. Students were milling about: talking and joking and playing around. Sam felt a pang of sadness and depression sweep over him as he burrowed further into his cloak.

Sam sat there watching for about an hour until he slunk off to his room where he curled up on his bed and opened his music box. A variety of people came by throughout the day to see if he wanted to do something but Sam denied all of their requests in favor of listening to his music box and brooding.

It wasn't until he woke up after falling asleep after lunch that he felt better. In fact, he felt positively wonderful. He couldn't stop grinning for some reason that he didn't think too hard on. He threw off his cloak and practically bolted downstairs. He got a few curious looks but ignored them completely as he hurled himself over the back of the couch. "Good afternoon!" He chimed happily.

"What's up with you?" Kitty asked staring with wide eyes.

"Nothing." He said still smiling. He turned in his seat to hang his head off the side to look at the entire room upside down and threw his feet over the back of the couch. "Hey, does anybody want to play a game?" He asked, ignoring the feeling of the blood rushing to his head.

"Are you sure you're feeling alright, Sam?" Jean asked glancing at the others in the room.

"I'm absolutely splendiferous! How are you, Jean-Bean?" Sam said quickly.

"Jean-Bean?" Scott echoed, his eyes shooting upwards.

Suddenly Sam sat bolt upright with a gasp. "You know what I haven't played in for_ever_?" He asked spinning in his seat. "Tag! We should play tag. Kitty I bet you'd be awesome at it! I mean you phase through people! You _can't _be tagged!"

At that moment, Kurt and Evan came in the room, talking about something from school. Sam hurled himself across the room. "Kurt!" He cried wrapping the blue teen in a hug.

"Ah!" Kurt cried in surprise. "S-sam!"

"You'd play tag with us right?" Sam said smiling widely.

"Dude, what's up with Sam?" Evan asked, staring at the other mutant.

Sam grinned widely. "Nothing's up with me! I feel great! No, I'm better than great! I'm-"

"Splendiferous?" Scott supplied dully.

Sam's eyes got wide as he turned to Scott. "How did you _know?_" He asked in utter amazement. "It's like he's a telepath!"

"No, Sam, you already said it." Jean supplied.

Sam blinked at her blankly for a minute before turning to Scott. "You _remembered?_" He said in an equally awed voice. "Even _I _didn't remember! That's so amazering!"

Kurt poked Sam in the side with his tail. Sam instantly looked over. "Sam, could you, uh, let go now?" He asked looking down at the arms still wrapped tightly around his waist.

"Sure!" Sam said letting go instantly and flopping down on the ground. "So we should play something!" He said smiling at the rest of the room with almost blinding intensity. "Who wants to play with me?"

Jean got to her feet. "I think I should call the Professor."

Sam gasped and turned. "Nooo! Don't do that! He'll ruin all the fun!"

"How?" Scott asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Because he'll make me take that medication and go all 'bleh' again! I wanna stay happy!" Sam said rocking back and forth on the ground with a cheerful smile.

The others exchanged a long look. "But you're acting, like, really strange." Kitty said.

Sam pouted a bit. "But I'm _haaaapppyy._" He whined.

"Guys maybe we should just let him be like this." Kurt ventured.

Sam gasped and hugged Kurt's legs. "I knew you'd understand!"

"Maybe just a little less happy." Evan muttered staring at Sam worriedly.

Sam stuck his tongue out at the blonde. "No one asked you."

"What's all the racket in here?" Logan asked gruffly as he came into the room. He took one look at Sam wrapped around Kurt's legs and raised an eyebrow. "And what's up with Ghosty?"

"He's gone a bit…manic." Jean said staring at Sam with a bit of worry.

"It's fun!" Sam said happily.

"Uh huh." Logan grunted. "I'm going to get Charles."

"Nooooo!" Sam whined. "I don't wanna be sad again!"

"Sorry kid but this aint any better. And it's gonna drive me crazy." Logan said as he left the room to go find the professor.


	47. Nightmare

**A/N: I know, I know...it's been so very long. I apologize for that. I really don't have an excuse other than...I temporarily forgot about this story. On a side note...I've been writing this for over a year now...oh my bejeebus**

* * *

_Fire crackled and fought the dark and cold of the night out of the camp. Sam was sitting near it with a bowl of stew and a piece of slightly stale bread. Around him people were talking happily in French and repairing equipment and eating. There were countless things to do during times of war. Nobody had the luxury to just sit there and think. Nobody, that is, besides him._

_The voices were whispering to him. Telling him things that were going to happen and a few things that had already happened. These whispers were invaluable. They were the reason several battles had gone in their favor recently._

_Suddenly, the dream shifted and Sam was running. Fear clamored in his mind and heart as he ran as fast as he could. Rails stuck out from the tracks and seemed to try and trip him as the trees swung back and forth tauntingly. He was being chased. That much he could tell. It was cold out; he could feel how cold it was turning the tears that were streaming down his face._

_Why was this happening to him? What had he done that was so wrong? _

_He heard his pursuer behind him and suddenly he stumbled, falling to the ground and rolling down a hill he hadn't seen. The entire world went black and he tried desperately to get up, still terrified, but he was unable to make his legs and arms do what he commanded. It was growing colder. His heart slammed painfully as his fear continued to grow._

_Slowly he felt himself just grow still. He couldn't explain it. Not at all. He looked at his hand and cried out in horror as it slowly withered away to skin and bones. His scream grew more shrill as his skin peeled away, leaving bloody bones behind. He could feel the rest of his body growing thinner and more skeletal as he stared in horror. His entire hand was that of a bleached skeleton now and he screamed in absolute horror._

_A voice was trying to reach him but he was too far beside himself to pay attention to it. He could feel his hair falling out around him and his eyes suddenly went dark, leaving him with only the feelings of his body slowly decaying with him still awake. _

_Why was this happening? What had he done? Where was he? Why hadn't anyone found him- **SAM!**_

Sam woke with a gasp and shot upright only to be grabbed by familiar strong hands. Logan was holding him still while Ororo was standing there in her frilling pink gown beside Professor Xavier. Several teens were standing outside of the room, looking a bit terrified in their own right and all together too worried. Tears slipped down Sam's chin as he tried to get his own emotions and thoughts under control. "You alright, Ghosty?" Logan asked gruffly.

Sam didn't answer; he was too busy trying to make sense of everything that he'd just dreamed up. Or nightmared up. He closed his eyes and tried to get control of himself but control didn't seem possible. Sam looked at the Professor. "Something's wrong." Ororo frowned slightly before going to the door and ushering the other kids off to bed, assuring them everything would be alright.

"What is wrong, Sam?" the Professor asked with a slight frown of concentration.

Sam shook his head slightly. "I don't know. I just know it's wrong."

"Come on, kid, let's get you something to calm ya down," Logan suggested in an unusual display of empathy. Sam nodded and let the animalistic mutant lead him down the stairs to the kitchen. The Professor followed them and Ororo joined them several minutes later after making sure the other teens were back in bed. Especially those that had the knack for eavesdropping.

Sam barely paid attention as Logan prepared what looked like hot chocolate and put it in front of him. Xavier folded his hands in front of him and studied Sam carefully. "What was your dream about, Sam?"

"A-at first, I was just sitting around the fire with some soldiers. I've been having lots of dreams like that recently. Not like...soldiers soldiers but like Knight soldiers. Anyway, we were just sitting there like nothing was going on then I was running. He was chasing me," Sam said before taking a heavy drink from the mug he had been given. It tasted a bit unusual but he put it out of his mind almost instantly.

"Who were you running from?" Ororo asked.

Sam shook his head. "I don't know. I was just running and then I fell. I couldn't get back up and I was so cold..."

The Professor waited another moment before realizing Sam had gotten distracted by something in his mind. "What happened after you fell, Sam?"

Sam shuddered at the memory. "I…I started to get thinner. Very thin. And then my skin peeled back like I was decaying. And I felt it. Every second I felt my body just fall apart!" He took another gulp of hot liquid. "They should have found me!"

"Who should have found you?" Xavier asked curiously.

Sam stopped and looked up in surprise. "I…I don't know." Slowly he started rocking, wrapping his arms around himself tightly. Ororo stepped forward and put an arm around his shoulders. "I can still feel it! I feel like I'm still laying there even though I'm sitting right here!"

Suddenly, an outer calm slipped over his mind and he heard the Professor tell him to calm down, which he somehow managed to do. "Everything will be fine, Sam. We will work it all out," he assured his student.

Sam drained the last bit of hot liquid and stared at the bottom of the cup in confusion. That strange taste was still there. He looked up at Logan. "What was in this?"

"Just normal hot chocolate, Ghosty," Logan answered though he looked a bit confused. "Why?"

"Do you make it with milk?" Sam asked.

Logan shrugged. "Sure, why?"

Sam's eyes widened and he looked back down at the cup. "I am allergic to milk…but I don't feel sick at all. That's never happened before."

"Maybe your mutation took care of your allergy," Ororo suggested. "It's happened before."

Sam shook his head slightly before looking at the Professor. "This isn't my body," he said suddenly entirely too sure of it. The whispers in his mind confirmed it for him. His fingers suddenly went numb and the mug slipped out of his hand, being caught by Logan easily. "_Professeur_...Where's my body! Why haven't they found it!" he demanded, voice rising to near hysterical pitch.

"Sam, we have no proof this isn't your body. You're still confused from your nightmare. In the morning you'll feel better," Xavier said calmly.

"I'm not confused, _Professeur_!" Sam said half standing from his chair. "Where is my cross? I always wore one and now it's gone! If this is my body then where is it?" he demanded.

"Sam, please, calm down," Xavier said, allowing some of his powers to influence his student and calm him down. "We will investigate further in the morning if you wish but right now, you need to try and get some rest. Your nightmare hasn't left you with the best night's sleep," he reasoned.

"I'm not crazy," Sam whispered. It sounded like an old protest, one well used and argued over.

"I know you're not," Xavier assured. "But you do need to get some rest."

Sam sighed and allowed Ororo to lead him out of the kitchen. He knew that he wouldn't win. Not when all of the adults were against him. Though now that he had thought of it, he just knew that this body he was in was wrong. It was close to his. It looked rather like he should and he couldn't escape it like he could the others. But it wasn't his body either.


	48. Jehanne

**A/N: I've had this chapter half written since practically the beginning. One mystery will be almost solved here for you so enjoy.**

* * *

Sam glanced over at his roommate to make sure he was still asleep before gathering his music box and several pairs of clothes in his book bag. He snuck down the hall and then down the stairs, being certain to move slowly so as to not make even a single noise. He knew what he knew. His body was out there somewhere and he had to find it. He'd never be able to rest peacefully until he did.

He walked through the woods on the now familiar path that would lead him straight to town. The moon lit up the woods well enough for him to navigate without too much problem. Even if it wasn't as bright as it could have been. He paused suddenly, listening to the whispers. Turning to the left he saw a large rock outcropping. Moving over to it he put out a hand to feel the cold rough surface. He frowned and closed his eyes.

_~~"Admit your crimes!"_

_"I cannot admit to something I haven't done!"_

_"Heretic! You are a disgrace to this cross!"_

_"Call me what you will, I know the truth. And so does God."~~_

Sam opened his eyes again and stared at the rock curiously. It wasn't the rock itself that had brought those angry French words to his mind. But something about them had reminded him of them. Reminded him of something he shouldn't remember in the first place. What was going on? What were the voices trying to tell him? Where were they from? Why did his nightmares seem so real all the time?

He started walking again. Not entirely certain where he was going but needing to move. He needed to feel accomplished. As if he were doing everything in his power to figure this out. His mind wouldn't rest until it had its answers. Unfortunately, he had no idea where to look.

When he finally reached town he didn't particularly want to go into it but he knew he had to. He had to catch a bus and go back to Tioga. He went missing there. His body had to be there somewhere. He knew it. ~Sam?~ Sam looked up at the familiar voice of the Professor in his head. ~Sam, where are you going?~

~I cannot sit by and wait, _Professeur_.~

~You won't accomplish anything by running off on your own,~ he replied calmly.

Sam sighed and sat down at the bus stop. ~I have to try. I have to figure this out. These nightmares…they are too real.~

~Come back and I'll be able to help you, Sam.~

~I am not so sure,~ he answered. He looked up at the sky that was getting steadily lighter. The clouds were streaked with light pastel colors. A hand landed on his shoulder and he turned. He wasn't really surprised to see Logan standing there with a frown on his face.

"Goin' somewhere, Ghosty?"

"Apparently not," Sam answered with a sigh.

Hours of walking was reduced to a few minutes of travel on the back of Logan's motorcycle. Professor Xavier was waiting for them in his office. The frown on his face didn't faze Sam though. "I need to find my body," he said before the professor could launch into a lecture.

"Sam, you must be patient," Xavier said.

"I have been patient for three years. I am tired of waiting for someone to find out what happened to me. I need to know! And these dreams are driving me insane! I can't wait," Sam stated firmly.

Professor Xavier sighed. "Perhaps you'll feel better if I tried to find the source of these dreams through a mental probe," he suggested, though he wasn't all that fond of the idea. He really only rather do that if it were necessary.

"Perhaps," Sam half agreed.

Xavier sighed and gestured to the couch. Sam sat down immediately and closed his eyes as Xavier put his hands on Sam's forehead. Xavier sunk down into Sam's consciousness easily and spread out to try and find the source of these nightmares that were disturbing Sam so greatly.

Suddenly, the darkness parted and the Professor was standing in the midst of the rolling ground and shifting colors of Sam's inner mind. Trees were standing tall around him and just ahead he heard water trickling. He walked forward, managing to walk with the rolling ground this time. Sitting next to a stream was Sam's subconscious wearing shining golden armor and wearing the sword he'd seen on his last visit around her waist.

The Professor narrowed his eyes and sent his mind seeking. The mental ripples from the dreams led right to her. "You're the cause," he said, though honestly he should have known. Most dreams came from the subconscious areas of the mind.

"Not intentionally," she said not bothering to turn around to face him from where she was standing by the river. "If I could avoid it I would. But Sampson is straying away from my influence more and more. This world is not longer under my control," she explained.

Xavier frowned. "What are these dreams from?"

"They are memories," she answered. "He is remembering more and more and I cannot stop it."

He frowned some as the information seeped in and fit into the puzzle that was Sam. His student had said he'd been having dreams of knights and war. That wasn't something he could have experienced. He wasn't nearly that old. "You lied to me." Xavier stated.

The woman turned to face him with a humorless smile. "I did not lie. I merely omitted things."

"Who are you really?" Xavier asked. He knew she wasn't what she had first introduced herself as. She couldn't possibly be. Not if Sam was remembering things that he couldn't possibly have experienced.

She sighed and turned back to drop stones in the pool of water. "I was born in France in 1412. My powers activated when I was seventeen when the English attacked my village. I suppose the best explanation was that I was a pre-cognitive mutant. I knew things I couldn't possibly know. So, I helped my people in our war with the English. I died 1431 when they declared me a heretic and witch because of my powers. That is when my second power developed. I escaped my execution and have been living in other people's subconscious ever since."

There were several moments of silence as the Professor scoured his history lessons for the dates she'd mentioned. That war would have been the Hundred Year war. And being a French woman with precognition that would mean- "A-are you saying…that you're Joan of Arc?" Xavier asked in awe.

"The English gave me that version but I was born Jehanne d'Arc." She corrected absently. "But I'm impressed. You know your French History, _Professeur_. Not many seem to anymore. But then, so much has happened since then…I suppose it's hard to keep up."

"So, the J in that door…didn't stand for 'Je'." He prompted.

She smiled a bit. "No…that one _was_ a lie. It was my past. The past that is leaking into Sampson's mind, which is not my fault by the way. Our two beings are merging together and I can't hold it off any longer."

"What do you mean?"

Jehanne shrugged a bit. "Every person I ever resided within inherited my precognitive ability. The voices I heard as a little girl spoke to them because of me. But Sampson did not develop this ability. I couldn't understand it. He was the first person to not hear the voices. And then he died and…I saw why he didn't hear what I heard. He had inherited my other power. And now, we are both without a body of our own but we cannot exist without each other. Like mixing yellow and blue dye. Eventually, they will mix to make green. It may take some time but it will happen. The same is happening to us."

"Why can't you just leave Sam's mind? Why do you say you can't exist without each other?" The Professor asked.

"Like I said when we first met, _Professeur_, Sampson's powers come from me. If I were to leave I suppose I would survive but he would lose his powers and…cease to be. I can't do that to him. He reminds me too much of my little brother." Jehanne said getting to her feet and brushing the seat of her pants. "I cannot be so selfish. I would rather us merge into one person than to rob him of a life yet again."

The Professor was quiet for a few minutes as he thought about the rather unique problem Sam and Jehanne had presented him with. "Is there anything I can do?" He asked after a moment.

Jehanne shook her head. "Doubtful. The only way to make this easier is if Sampson willingly comes to me and something tells me it would take some doing to convince him to do so."

"He doesn't even realize you exist, does he?"

Jehanne laughed a bit though it lacked any real humor. "Again, it is doubtful. Sampson has been far too concerned with the mystery of his death to examine the source of his powers much."

"How did Sam die?" Xavier asked. She wouldn't tell him the first time he'd met her but maybe now that this was going on she would be more open. She shook her head indicating she wouldn't say. "Why won't you tell me? Why won't you let Sam remember?"

"He doesn't want to." She answered simply. "When he first died I feared for his sanity. He was so very distraught. I didn't know what else to do but lock it all away. He shouldn't have had to deal with such a thing."

"You did."

She shook her head in denial. "I sacrificed my youth and life for my God and country. His was stolen. I don't wish to steal it away twice. This is the happiest I've ever seen my little Sampson. To take that away from him now seems…almost too cruel."

"You really do care for him, don't you?" The Professor said noting the sad look that she wore. Especially when talking about what would happen should she leave.

Jehanne nodded. "I do. I've seen him struggle so much already I can't imagine causing him more grief if I can help it. I chose to reside in Sampson because I knew he was strong but everyone has their limits."

"I don't think you're giving him enough credit."

"It doesn't matter. He'll find out soon anyway. My control on Sampson is ebbing. When we merge I don't doubt he'll find out everything. And then I can only hope that you and the others will be there for him…because he will need it." And with that the manifestation of Sam's mind melted away in a flurry of golden specks.

The Professor opened his eyes and removed his hands from Sam's temples. Sam opened his eyes. "What is it?" Sam asked curiously. "Did you find out where these vision things are coming from?"

The Professor sighed; there wasn't any other choice, he'd have to tell him what he'd found. "I did."


	49. Questions

**A/N: I'm sorry, I've found it hard to focus on this story lately. I haven't given up and I'm determined to finish it since it is getting very close to the end but I'm having a hard time getting there. So, I'm putting the story on... not really hiatus as I'm not putting it on hold... but more like low priority. I have other things going on that's making fanfiction very low on that list of things to do.  
**

**In other news, I got a question about making this story Slash with Sam/Kurt. I must admit the thought occurred to me but as of right now there is no pairing planned. If you want to see this as light shonen-ai, however, I certainly can't stop you. I might make the ending be a bit open so that you readers who like shonen-ai can imagine Kurt and Sam being together if you wish but that will be the extent of it.  
**

* * *

Sam sat on the rocks of the cliff and stared out at the water. The voices were strangely silent, as if waiting for him to absorb the information he had been told. The reason all of this was happening to him was because a fourteenth century French saint had possessed his body as a child and now was living inside of his mind. The strange dreams were from her and so were his powers. If she left he'd cease to exist but if she stayed he wouldn't really be himself anymore either.

His music box was playing beside him and he couldn't help but think that the music mixed very well with his mood and the crashing of the waves. He knew the professor and the others were worried about him but he couldn't face them yet. Not until he knew how to handle this. It was just so much to absorb. He wasn't sure if he was even himself anymore or where he began and Jehanne stopped. Or was it vise versa? She did exist first after all.

Not for the first time in his life Sam was unable to do more than just sit there and think in circles that neither made him feel better or answered the questions in his mind. He wished he had answers.

He heard someone come up behind him but ignored it mostly. Instead, he reached over and rewound the music box that was beginning to slow down. Kurt sat down beside him, for once not bothering with his image inducer. It was late at night and they were far from anywhere so it wasn't likely he'd be seen.

They just sat there for a long time until Kurt sighed a little. It was clear Sam wasn't going to start talking so he'd start instead. "A lot to take in, ya?" he asked softly.

"_Oui,"_ Sam agreed, equally soft.

They fell into silence for another few minutes. "At least you know why you're having these dreams now. That's good right?" Kurt said in an attempt to lighten the oppressively melancholic mood.

"_Oui."_

Kurt sighed again at the less than engaging answer. "I'm glad you found out something, even if it wasn't what you wanted," he said before starting to get up. It was clear to him Sam didn't want company.

"She told me to ask you something…" Sam said suddenly, stopping Kurt from getting up completely.

Kurt blinked in surprise but sat back down. "What?"

Sam looked down and rewound his box again. "Well, not ask… but talk to you. I find it hard… to have faith… when such horrible things have happened. I have seen wars and been murdered in both lives. It's hard to believe that God has any sort of love for us when he allows such things to happen."

Kurt frowned a little and looked out at the ocean. "Most people think God gives us will only give us what he knows we can handle…" Kurt said softly, his eyes a little distant as he thought.

"And you?" Sam asked looking over. Kurt blinked a little and looked at his friend in confusion. "You said 'most people' does that mean you think something different?"

Kurt shrugged a little bit. "I'm not sure if that is what God's intentions are or not. But I do have faith that he has a plan for us and that what happens will bring some good. Even if it isn't easy to see or if it doesn't happen right away."

"Good?" Sam echoed, somewhat incredulously. "How is being murdered anything good?" he asked, his voice cracking a little with sorrow. "How is rotting in some shallow grave to never be found… how is that possibly good?"

Kurt's eyes softened and he wrapped and arm around his friend on instinct. "It gave us a chance to meet you. And now you can help people with us if you want. Isn't that something good?"

"I don't want to be a mutant! I don't want to be able to help people while my body turns to dust and never gets a proper burial! If what happened to Jehanne happens to me… Why can't I move on? She is a saint and she must stay here even after being burned alive for him! I don't want to stay here and suffer more!"

Kurt rubbed Sam's back comfortingly. "You don't have to suffer. Enjoy the second chance and be happy. That's all we want and I'm sure that's what God would want as well. He wants all of us to find happiness, even if it's moment by moment," he assured the other mutant.

"It doesn't make sense!" Sam snapped, suddenly angry as he pulled away. "Hasn't he tested me enough? How am I supposed to be happy at all if I must know and feel the things I feel? I'm sure if I try I could feel what Jehanne did as she was burned alive! Nobody should have to live with that!"

"But you can," Kurt assured him.

"I don't want to!" Sam snapped before he turned and buried his face in his knees. Silence overtook them again for several minutes as Kurt tried to think up something to say that might comfort his friend. "I just want to be normal…"

"You wouldn't have survived if you were normal…" Kurt pointed out softly.

"I don't care!" Sam snapped before his voice softened. "I would rather have this agony end than have to live on for eternity as whatever it is I am… I wouldn't think that too much to ask…"

"You don't mean that," Kurt denied.

Sam didn't answer. The two teens sat on the rocks for a while longer, listening to the music box and the waves crash against the bottom of the cliff. Kurt was at a loss for something to say. He wanted to magic the words out of thin air and make Sam feel better but he couldn't. So instead, he settled for just sitting there with him and trying to make him feel not so alone. Though how he could feel alone with two people in his head, Kurt didn't know.

All Kurt knew was that his friend needed some sort of support or he might never recover from the shock. As it was it didn't sound like Sam was going to be at peace with God for a very long time, if at all, though that definitely made Kurt upset to hear. He had a saint inside his head and he still couldn't find peace. How was Kurt supposed to help with that?

"We'll help you, you know," Kurt said softly. Again, Sam didn't choose to answer him and Kurt sighed sadly.


	50. Valentine's Day

**A/N: Sort of a nonsense filler-y chapter but I felt bad for having not updated this in so long. Plus I was getting serious writers block trying to continue with the episodes and such so I decided to skip ahead through most of the second season. I did put a small summary in there to help fill in the gaps. I've also decided if it's not something specific to Sam's story I'm probably going to skim it because quite honestly, I want to have this story done. It's been killing me how close to the end I've gotten and can't seem to clear those last few hurdles.**

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Months crept by slowly and suddenly it was February. That meant everyone who was interested in giving out gifts for Valentines Day had to find something to get. Luckily, Sam had absolutely nobody to get anything for and was definitely not expecting anything in return. The best he had was some close friends and most of them already had people they wanted to get of give things to or from.

What Sam hadn't anticipated however was that he was in a unique situation and others were more than willing to exploit it. "Sam!"

Sam groaned some and turned to see Scott coming up to him. "Hello Scott. What can I do for you?" Sam asked, already dreading what his answer was. Because he'd already been asked the same question by several of the other mutants at the institute.

"You were a girl once…"

"Several times actually," Sam said blandly. Ever since the truth about where his powers came from surfaced Sam had been having more and more dreams about not only his life as Joan of Arc but as several other people throughout history though without a doubt Joan came through clearest.

"So… would you maybe have any ideas about what to give Jean for Valentines Day?" Scott asked, trying and failing not to blush.

Sam sighed but nodded a little. "Well, since Jean is a practical girl I would suggest something that she can use but is still very nice to look at or high quality. And I don't mean like a book or something silly. She strikes me as the time to like perfumes but not overpowering types of perfume. Something light that she can wear lots of places," he suggested. "But you know her better than me so if you can think of something she might like better go for it."

Scott nodded some as he thought about it. "Thanks, that's a pretty good idea," he said before wandering off.

Sam shook his head and went to grab his books from his locker like he'd been trying to do before Scott found him. The past few months had been eventful for the X-Men as a whole but Sam had made a point to stay out of most of the chaos. With the teacher Hank McCoy joining the institute when his powers became no longer concealable and Boom Boom leaving to join the Brotherhood there had been a bit of resettling to do around the mansion. Something Sam was used to doing what with being a nomad so long.

And then there had been that unfortunate Sadie Hawkins Dance. Luckily, Sam had managed to avoid that one by simply not having a date to it. At least Kurt got something out of it. Him and Amanda had been dating since and Sam was glad his friend could find someone that didn't mind him being blue and fuzzy.

Even worse had been the addition of Scarlet Witch to the Brotherhood's roster. Sam felt that without a doubt she had been what the voices had tried to warn him of back when his powers of premonition reaffirmed themselves. His warning had been too far in advance though and Wanda had single handedly beaten the team. Not that Sam had been much help in that fight anyway.

The once again living teen still couldn't access his powers for anything offensive and his hand-to-hand combat skills were severely lacking. "Yo' X-life!" Sam groaned as he recognized what the Brotherhood had for some reason deemed his nickname. Turning he saw Toad hop over to him.

"What is it Toad?" Sam asked, beyond annoyed that essentially the enemy was attempting to talk to him.

"You were a girl! Tell me what to get Wanda!" Toad pleaded.

Sam's eyebrow rose at that. "How did you know I used to be a girl?" he asked in confusion.

"Boom Boom told us. Come on! Please? I jus' wanna get my girl something special so Wanda'll notice me," Toad pleaded.

"I doubt Wanda doesn't notice you, Toad. The smell is rather obvious," Sam said closing his locker and starting down the hall.

"Come on, X-life! I thought you Xavier kids were all about helpin' people out!" Toad continued to plead as he chased after Sam.

"My name is Sam. Not X-life as you Brotherhood punks have come to call me," Sam replied icily.

Toad scowled some and jumped in front of Sam, blocking his exit. "Hey, all I'm askin' for is a suggestion!" Toad said in annoyance. "Ya don't have to buy it or anything."

"Well, since the stores at the mall are still being reconstructed after your girlfriend's tantrum that's probably a good thing," Sam quipped. "Fine. You want my advice? Give Wanda something she'll really appreciate… give yourself a bath and a stick of deodorant." Sam quickly pushed past the other mutant and made his way towards his next class.

He was only halfway there when a hand caught him and flung him around. "Tell me what to get Kitty for Valentine's," Lance demanded.

Sam sighed heavily. "I take it Boom Boom told you I have been a girl in the past…" he drawled. Lance nodded emphatically. "Get her a stuffed animal. Something cute," Sam replied, not thinking too hard on it before getting loose of Lance's grip and hurrying to class.

In class Sam hoped to escape the question of what to get girls for the holiday but he'd not been so lucky. Kurt was the next to ask what Amanda would want. Sam, having only briefly met Kurt's girlfriend, could only offer up the rather stereotypical suggestions of chocolates, flowers, or jewelry. Though Sam did comment that jewelry was probably the safest bet.

By the time Sam got back to the institute after school he was in a terrible mood and sat in the kitchen scowling at the wall. It wasn't long before Logan, coming in for a snack, noticed him. "What's up with you, Ghosty?" he asked warily. He definitely didn't want to end up in the way if Sam was having a bi-polar episode.

"I hate Valentine's Day," Sam grumbled.

Logan snorted some and stabbed an apple with his claws. "Me too, kid," he said before leaving the kitchen with his snack.


End file.
